JDRF Michigan Great Lakes West Chapter - Ride to Cure Diabetes

SO - WHERE WE GONNA RIDE THIS YEAR GANG?

2012-01-17T09:17:00.003-05:00

Hey Team!

Registration for the 2012 Ride to Cure season is only 13 days away!!!!! That's earlier than ever and that means that we can shift our fund-raising into the big ring that much sooner! (Can you say "Van Andel"?)

We've been talkin' ever since the season closed last year about where to ride in 2012 - now it's time to REALLY get that conversation started!

As promised - here's my quick take on the 5 options from the perspective of someone that's attended and ridden 'em all................

Burlington VT (July 12-15) - Nice venue - I'd rank the century route 3rd in difficulty after DV and Tahoe. There are a few long-ish climbs and one severe lil' one where lotsa riders walk. (It kinda surprises you right before BreakPoint 2). Road surfaces and traffic are pretty good, weather has been awesome, hotel is fine if nothing special. KInd of early in the season from both an fitness and fund raising point of view but a very nice (and under-appreciated) Ride.

LaCrosse WI (Aug 16-19) - My least favorite Ride but there's gotta be one, y'know? We've had 2 VERY successful events there now after all. 2nd easiest century route (after Tucson) and all the climbing (and there's not much) is on the century route - right before the turn-around. Roads are okay - a bit narrow - and there was quite a bit of traffic last year. Weather was iffy in '11, fine in '10. Riding along the Big Muddy (the Mississippi River) is kind of cool. The town is nothing exceptional - just another Midwest blue-collar college burg. (TONS of saloons!) The main hotel is fine - a Marriot I think - but we fill it and then some and I've heard mixed reviews on some of the other ones. Main virtue is that it's an easy drive (so you can choose a lower $ goal) but one HUGE downside (possibly) is that it conflicts w/ ODRAM this year. (Boo!)

Lake Tahoe (Sept 7-10) - The leading contender for our team according to the "grapevine". This is a "piggyback" Ride - we're part of the "Tour de Tahoe"...a ride w/ 2000+ riders. That's kinda cool in a way. 36 or 72 mile options ONLY - no century option. The route is somewhat challenging w/ a steep switch-back climb about 15 miles in that'll have riders off their bikes (some of 'em) and a l-o-n-g climb on the backside w/ about 20 to go that'll remind you of Starr Pass in Whitefish or Jubilee. The good news is that from the top of that one it's downhill all the way into town! I'd rank this the 2nd toughest route (after DV) due to the climbs but it's flat-out gorgeous - especially the 1st half of the ride! You are hardly ever out of sight of the lake. Traffic can be heavy - the road for the 1st half is narrow and twisty. The hotel is great - an Embassy Suites - and the town is cool as long as you stay on the CA side of Stateline Rd. Weather was kinda cool and wet in '11, perfect in '10.

Death Valley (Oct 18-21) - What can I say? Many of you know more than enough about the Valley's charms and challenges so this is mostly for those that haven't made the trip. This is easily the toughest Ride - plenty of ups and downs on the route (including the infamous Jubilee Pass climb if you do the full 103 miles) and the weather ranges from very hot to brutally dang hot. Despite that - and the fairly spartan accommodations and dining - this Ride draws many of us back every year like moths to a flame. I daresay that there will ALWAYS be a West Mi presence at this the most iconic of JDRF Rides. There's something intense and special about the surroundings, the desert sky.......I dunno, it just kinda gets to you. (It just kinda might put'cha in the Med Tent too!)

DEATH VALLEY FILLS UP EARLY EVERY YEAR - IF YOU WANNA RIDE THERE YOU NEED TO SIGN UP ASAP!

Tucson AZ (Nov 15-19) - Man - late November can be a bee-yoo-ti-ful time to be in the desert southwest! This is a HUGE ride - we piggy-back again, this time on the "el Tour de Tucson" w/ it's 9000 riders. The route is the 2nd easiest - w/ one short steep-ish climb and a few moderate longer ones. There are also 2 "hike-a-bike" sections, which is kinda weirdly cool. The crowds and multiple distance options make this Ride a bit more challenging from a logistical standpoint - ya gotta listen @ dinner! The weather has been perfect all 3 years we've done it and the hotel is far and away the sweetest place we've ever stayed. I'm talking Off The Hook Cool! The food's a notch above as well. One drawback is that it';s late enough in the season that you'd hafta keep training into November here @ home to be ready.......but that's what cyclo-cross season is for!

So - I know I promised to be brief......and I tried, I really did. There's a lot to talk about, y'know?

Please don't hesitate to get ahold of me if you have other questions or if I skipped anything.....I'm here if you need me!

Let;s get this party started, huh? Last time I checked our friends and loved ones were still stuck dealing with the completely crappy deal that is Type 1 Diabetes so we gotta get to work!

I hope to hear from you - please start discussing where you plan to ride (and even why) here on the blog or on the Team FaceBook page - keep recruiting new riders and be sure to think about joining us for the Ultimate Cycling Challenge next month!

You guys ROCK - I mentioned that, right?

Coach Mike

Ultimate Cycle Challenge 2012!!!

2012-01-02T13:09:00.006-05:00

Hey Team!

Well - it's that time again - the time when we show the world that we are SO awesome that we can take on Type 1 AND the Big C at the same time!

For those of you that haven't joined us in the past....the U.C.C. is a 24 hour Team Relay Indoor Ride to raise $ for Livestrong, that Lance guy's cancer initiative. Teams (like ours) will have a member riding continuously for the entire 24 hours. It's a TON of fun - they have live entertainment, lotsa snacks and distractions and all sorts of stuff going on.

I've always spent the entire 24 hours there (except last year when Kaat and I ran over to GR to do a 'cross race and then came back to finish) and....well......it's a blast in a weird kinda way!

Also a fantastic chance to get some miles in, see your team mates and spread the word about our team!

So - here are the details:

Date - Feb 24/25 from 8pm-8pm

Place - Ridgepoint Church in Zeeland. (Super easy access from 1-96)

How to register - Go to www.ultimatecyclechallenge.com, chose "Join a Team", find "JDRF West Mi" from the team menu and sign up!

Then - contact me (mike@velo-citycycles.com) and we'll assign you a time slot.

After that - we'll see you there!

Questions? Check the website, e-mail me or stop in the shop!

Now that it's 2012 we're gonna be ramping up our plans for the season - stay tuned!

You guys rock - I told you that, right?

Coach MC

Jan 30 Update: the following folks have signed up for the following times:
8pm - John (the Cheetah) J
9pm - Jason S
10pm - JD
11pm - Sarah S
Midnight - Lindsay S
1am - Kaat
2am- Kaat
3am - Kaat
4am -
5am -
6am -
7am -
8am - Tom M
9am - Roy L
10am -
11am - Mary G (from Chicago)
Noon -
1pm -
2pm - Dane D
3pm - Kirsten D
4pm -
5pm -
6pm -
7pm -

I'll update this every coupla days. (Note - this is ONLY for the JDRF team.....there's also a Velo City team)

Okay - by popular demand here's the Velo City team schedule as well - since there IS a certain amount of "overlap" and we'll be set up side-by-side:

8pm - LTP
9pm - JD
10pm - Jason S
11pm - Lindsay S
Midnight - Mary G
1am - Sarah S
2am-
3am-
4am - Kaat
5am - Kaat
6am -
7am -
8am - John W
9am - John W
10am -
11am -
noon -
1pm -
2pm - Kirsten D
3pm -
4pm -
5pm -
6pm -
7pm -

SIGN UP SIGN UP SIGN UP! IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME AND YOU'LL BE BUMMED IF YOU MISS OUT!

A Mukluk Day Out

2011-12-18T18:40:00.009-05:00

OK, so, Mukluks. What's a Mukluk? It's a fatbike. What's a fatbike, then? This:

A fatbike is a machine for taking you freakin' ANYWHERE. Superficially, they're mountain bikes, but instead of 2ish inch tires, these are built around silly-huge 4 or even 5 inch wide rubber. All that tire means you can run single-digit air pressure, and that means you float over sand, snow, glop, whatever.

Sand? Wherever might one find sand in Western Michigan??? Well, I found some today!

Yeah, those are my tracks, there. Note how I sink in much less than a person walking! Oh, and, check out my sweet stem cap:

Next summer I aim to ride over the beach, into the water, and out to the sand bar. With tires like these, I think my chances are pretty dang good!

So, Mukkery. It's a whole new way to get yer Bike Face on! And you have the opportunity to win one! $5 per ticket at VCC, and the proceeds go to JDRF. How cool is that?!?!?

Hey, y'all have a great Christmas, OK? See ya soon, I hope...

Wanna Win a MukLuk? (And support a team mate?)

2011-12-16T14:44:00.003-05:00

If you've been on Coach Did's, Kaat's, JD's or my FaceBook page in the last 2-3 weeks you are well aware that we've all got a pretty flaming case of MukLuk Fever! (If you haven't - and are curious - here's a link for ya: http://salsacycles.com/bikes/mukluk/)

Anyway - the point here is that you can win one! Uber-team mate and all-around-good-guy Roy Logan has purchased one to be raffled off w/ 100% of the proceeds going to his Ride Account.

Is this the epitome of a "Win-Win" or what? You get a shot at winning a $1600 bike for 5 bucks AND all the $ goes to JDRF!

(Note: since the $ isn't a direct donation to JDRF it's not tax-deductible but big whup, it's 5 bucks, right?)

Anyway - the tickets are available here @ the shop - or you can contact me (mike@velo-citycycles.com or 616-610-0334) if you need to make other arrangements.

The drawing will be done @ 5pm on 2/29/12.

You need not be present to win.

You can buy as many tickets as ya wanna.

The bike is a Salsa MukLuk 3 - we're gonna try and get the winner the proper size but the bikes are in high demand right now and there may be a delay in doing so. (Jus' sayin')

Questions? you know how to reach me!

Coach Mike

Need ride money?

2011-11-21T10:46:00.001-05:00

I was reading Cindy’s latest email request for help at the Van Andel and rememberedwriting the note below before we went to Death Valley, so I thought I’d finallypublish it:

Isn’t the VanAndel Arena great? I mean, I know that it’s not always a picnic,but I get to see team members I don’t usually get to see over the winter. This pastyear I’d say that a good 80+% of the $4000+ that I earned was from that. This past year I also enlisted more people to helpme. The Howard team in the past 12months has consisted of Tim and I with guest appearances by Teresa, Taylor, Jasmine,Dawn with a few other rock stars sprinkled in. If you think about it, if we make $50/person/shift, I had nights when Ihad 4 of us working and plunking $200 into my ride account. Once I reached my goal (May or June I think?)then my hours shifted to Tim’s account – all 6 of us were working on it. We had no problem hitting the $8000 nut thatTim and I had to cover.

No problem.

Actually, thanks to the Circus and Hockeyevents the few couple weeks I’m already $300ish into 2012 (before we even went to DV 2011).

When Cindy sends a good sized schedule I sit down with thecalendar and see which days work well for me. I like weekday hockey and the occasional concert. The event doesn't matter, we all end up with the same rate per hour at the end of the quarter. I find just can’t work more than 1 event a week (although Isometimes do). During the Late Fall andWinter I have Master’s classes, so I have to work around my study time. But I send back to Cindy as early as I can, alist of what I can work so she can sleep better at night. I always try to bring a friend with metoo. I want a minimum of $100 going intomy account every time I work!

Never done it? Scaredto try? No problem! We’ll show you what to do. Maybe you just want to pour pop? Great! Maybe you know how to run a cash register? Fantastic! It’s all pretty easy stuff, especially if we have a full crew for anevening.

The point – the VA is a great way to raise funds. It pains me to hear Cindy struggling withfinding resources at the last minute and talking about cancelling events. It also pains me to see people struggling tofill their ride account$ late in the game. It’s to our advantage to have a strong pool of willing people. I don't want to lose this great way to raise funds for the cause.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! - Mike (mhoward@steelcase.com)

Feeding Fest - Ride Team, family and friends

2011-11-05T07:10:00.002-04:00

Tonight is the night at Tom Miller's in Grand Haven area. Don't have the address, contact Nicole or me at 616 405 4845.

Maggie's special Mexican Chile has been simmering off and on since Wednesday. Lots of goodies are on the list.

I'm posting this just in case you missed all the other notices about this annual event that is a kick off for those going to the Tucson ride and a reminiscing time for those who have already participated in one of the other JDRF fund raising bicycle rides.

See you there,

JD

Bikes coming home TODAY!

2011-10-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

Apologies for the late posting, here - I was trying to think of desert limericks and forgot that HEY! Your Bike Will Be Home Today!

So, you need to come pick it up, again from JD Stone's office garage at 10963 Paw Paw Drive just east of Holland (mmmaaap). Pickup times are from 5pm-9pm Friday, October 21 (that's tonight!), or Saturday, October 22 from 10am-2pm. If you can't make one of those times, and you live in the GR area, Coach Mike will be able to bring a VERY few noble steeds to the KissCross race on Sunday at Manhattan Park. Bring a cowbell!

If none of the above options work for you, you need to get in touch with us to make other arrangements. Storage is extremely limited, so we really need you to get your bike today or tomorrow.

Yah OK!

Bike Room Verse

2011-10-20T11:59:00.003-04:00

So - I'm not quite ready to write about DV yet.....gimme a few days. (Don't let that stop ya'll though - hint!) but I was goin' through the huge pile of receipts and stuff from the last 2 Rides and I found some haiku and other stuff from the Tahoe Ride. It turns out that Patti "Pea" Bills shares my fondness for playin' with words and we started taping little notes all over the wall of the Bike Room w/ our respective efforts at capturing the mood. Since there's not really anywhere else to put it - here ya go:

From lycra and sweat

Riders forge their own stories

Of hope and a cure (MC)

On Ride to Cure eve

Riders, coaches, families

anticipate joy (PB)

Bike Room Onomatopoeia:

Snap Crackle Pop

Whirl Whrrr Grind Turn Squeak & Squish

Slide Spin Crank & Smile (PB)

Greasy hands throbbing

bikes leaving boxes behind

BikeFace in the air (MC)

There once was a wrench wench named Pea

Her skills were there for all to see

She'd put 'em together

No matter the weather

And actually did it for free! (MC)

Riders wear stories

of diagnosis and hope

on bikes and in hearts (PB)

Quiet in the Bike Room

nervous stomachs try to sleep

pedals await cleats (MC)

Anyway.......ignore at will!

SAVE THE DATE (Because the fun continues!)

2011-10-07T16:19:00.002-04:00

SAVE THE DATE

2011 JDRF West Michigan Ride Team Celebration

Saturday, November 5

6:00 p.m.

Tom Miller's House

Grand Haven, MI

(address is in your email!)

Plan to join this awesome team for a celebration of all we've accomplished in 2011. We'll have fresh DV stories to share, lots of memories from Vermont/Wisconsin/Tahoe, and even one rider looking forward to an awesome ride in Tucson/Tuscon later in the month!

More details to come, but plan on a pot luck fiesta. We'll have awards, photos, pool, ping pong, and lots of good cheer too. Kids welcome.

*For those of you riding the Iceman that morning up north--we can't wait to hear the tales that night @ the party!

More to come!

The Updated Death Valley Primer

2011-10-03T20:54:00.003-04:00

It's been a year since Tom Scheidel wrote this invaluable thing, and pretty much all of it is valid. There are a couple of updates, though, numero uno being cell phone coverage. Due to a stubby little tower right near the playgroud, there is now one billion times more cell phone coverage. AT&T folks even get 3G data; Verizoners have to make due with just coverage. Once you're away from the oasis, though, that coverage drops away reeeeal fast.

That said, anyone caught holed up in their room on Facebook will be have their phone mailed to Cuba, and will be forced to pick all the fleas off of Mr. Coyote's nether regions.

I'm not sure we mentioned it, but you might want to hydrate.

Leave your bike after Saturday's ride???

2011-09-27T07:04:00.003-04:00

If any out of towners care to leave their bikes after Saturday's taco tour, I will open the garage at my old office. Don't forget the bag with your helmet, CO2's, shoes, etc....and have your name, Great Lakes West Michigan on a secure tag on the bike and the bag.

I know, parting with your wheels is difficult, so waiting till Thursday PM or Friday all day - but NO LATER THAN 5 PM may work better for you.

JD

Word to the team, yo!

2011-09-26T10:47:00.002-04:00

In 17 days we'll be travelling to Death Valley.

Whoa.

I'm fighting the urge to start my annual packing spreadsheet - and it's a fight I'm losing.

BUT! There's plenty to do before that, first and foremost ridin' yo' bike! We have one more team ride coming up, and it's really high up on the do-not-miss list. Our hosts will be none other than Mike and Linda Clark, which means that it's the Fajita Bash Ride! We'll have a couple of loops in the 35-40 mile range (or, if you prefer, the 32ish-37ish range), followed by arse-kickingly good grilled chicken fajitas and whatever sides or desserts or drinks or whatever that you'd like to bring.

So, details:

Date: SATURDAY October 1

Times: Loop 1 rollout 9am, loop 2 rollout Noon

Location: Casa de Clark in Holland - address and map will be mailed.

Bring: LAWN CHAIRS, desserts/appetizers/side dishes to share, and whatever you want to drink.

PLEASE RSVP to Me or MC or Nicole or on the Facebook event.

Now, some advance planning for Death Valley - I think we've made it known that you'll need to have your bike dropped off for shipping to the ride on Friday, October 7. We're changing the location for that, though - instead of taking your bike to the shop, we're going to stage them at JD Stone's office, at 10963 PawPaw Drive 49424 in Holland; his is the 4th office on the left. He's got a nice big garage there. You can drop your bike off on Thursday, October 6 between 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm, or on Friday, October 7 between 8 am and noon, or after 1:30 pm. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR BIKE THERE BY 5 PM, period, no exceptions! If you can't get your bike there in the times listed, please get in touch with us and we'll figure something out.

So, lots of important stuff is coming up - if you've got any questions, uncertainties, needs, whatever, that's what we're here for. We want you to have the kind of experience that's made us the coolest team on earth!

A little humor courtesy of Adam@Home

2011-09-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

Team Ride SATURDAY notice!

2011-09-14T16:14:00.002-04:00

Hey rock stars! Like the email said we're doin' a team ride this SATURDAY, September 17, starting from Richmond Park in GR (MMMmmmap: http://g.co/maps/5mtfe), rollout time will be 9am SHARP so be ready to roll by 8:45 or so.

Why the emphasis on punctuality? Well, we're gonna meet (and possibly photobomb) some other cool folks at the JDRF Walk to Cure, and they start hoofin' it at 10, so we wanna get there before that to, y'know, spread Ride Coolness!

It goes without sayin' that wearing some sort of JDRF kit would be the thing to do, right?

Oh, riding: I guess something in the 50 mile range, with options to easily shorten. Bring snacky food if ya want and we'll chow a bit post-ride. No crazy potluck this time, though.

On SUNDAY, there's an opportunity to 'cross things up a bit - the KissCross series will stop at Highland Park for some barrier-hopping good times. Come watch, or better yet join in to the wild rumpus - race time is 11am for the 30-minute C-race, so show up at 10 or so to register, warm up, pre-ride the course, and soak up the fun. Mountain bikes work just fine! Pictures from last week's season kickoff at Plaster Creek Park are online here - see how many folks you know are already doing this????

Oh, and... ONE MONTH FROM TOMORROW IS DEATH VALLEY RIDE DAY. My productivity is already starting to suffer...

LAKE TAHOE RIDE REPORT - THE LAST DAY!

2011-09-13T03:33:00.002-04:00

Well - my plan a couple hours ago was to wax poetic (or at least lengthy) on the remarkable weekend (ok - week) that we've had here in Lake Tahoe.

What's that saying about "best laid plans" again"?

Here's a few random thoughts about the last 6 days instead.......

The Ride was a complete success no matter your definition of that......everyone rode well, we raised a ton of $, the BikeFace Spirit was strong, there were 33 new riders out of 85 (!!!!!), the new venue was a complete turnaround from the smelly, dark casino of last year (even if we had to re-locate the Bike Room 3 times!), no one got hurt, the spirit and passion and fervor and power of this Thing We Have Going was in full evidence from the get go........this one goes squarely in the "Win" column!

Y'all * can rest assured that our Team & Chapter were well represented as well - in quality if not quantity. New Rider Roy Logan had a complete blast, rode great, met a buncha folks and could be observed soaking up the Whole Ride Experience pretty much 24/7.

Patti "Pea" Bills & Jeremy rocked the Bike Room, much as you'd expect and despite my fumbling attempts to assist. Speaking of your erstwhile reporter.....the reviews were kind regarding my appearances @ the mic and I managed to not fall offa my bike so I guess I held up my end.

The more I think about it the more I think this might well be the best non-DV option for us to consider. Here's why:
The hotel is great.
The town is as well.
The ride is staggeringly scenic on a regular basis.
The lack of a 100 mile option takes that pressure away.
The timing is good - no trying to stay fit into Oct or Nov.
The road surfaces are generally pretty good.
The food stops are plentiful and well-stocked. (boiled redskin 'tators anyone?)
Did I mention the views?

Now - in the interest of full disclosure I can think of a few downsides:

No 100 mile option.
The route isn't the easiest....the climb up the switchbacks is the toughest bit on any current JDRF course. But it's short, maybe 1/2 mile? The other climb - up to Spooner Summit on the backside of the course @ mile 54 - is Jubilee Pass Light......long (5-ish miles) but not steep and it offers a few flat or even slightly downhill sections to recover.
The traffic is pretty significant......especially 'tween the 2nd stop @ mile 24-ish 'til you turn offa Highway 50 back towards the lake @ about mile 48.
Although the Embassy Suites is in CA, the smelly hell of NV and the low-rent Vegas wanna-be of South Lake Tahoe is literally across the street. (I realize that may not be such a downside for everyone!)

So - not to be looking past DV or Tucson (unofficial Teammie Mary-from-Chicago signed up for Tahoe today!) but I'd put Tahoe strongly in the "should be considered" catagory.

Today was awesome, by the way. Lotsa warm fuzzies @ breakfast then we hit it.....HARD! By lunchtime we could see that our hoes of having all the bikes boxed today was a real possibility so we treated ourselves to a great lunch (best fish tacos of the trip!) and then back at it 'til I had the extreme pleasure of taping the last box shut @ exactly 6:00pm.

All we hafta do tomorrow morning is pack up our tools and workstands and parts and misc crap, make sure all the boxes have packing labels on 'em and check out. We're gonna take the long way outta here - drive the route around the lake /cuz Patti hasn't seen it yet,grab lunch somewhere on the other side of the lake and then it's off to Reno, then Vegas to join some other Velo-Citizens (and Nicole!) for a couple days @ the Big Bike Show.

So - thanks for reading this, since that means that you care.

And thanks for caring, since that means you rock!

This is Rm 822, signing off from Lake Tahoe for the last time this year. Next stop on the Ride to Cure Tour is Death Valley - in about a month!

Let's get it on!

Yours,
Coach Mike

*been hangin' around St Clair too much!

LAKE TAHOE REPORT - RIDE DAY

2011-09-12T02:21:00.002-04:00

The day was another massive success for the Program - all riders in"safe, sound & smiling" by 4:00, accompanied by Tim St Clair and yours truly.

Massive amounts of BikeFace were noted, the weather ranged from sun to rain, the dinner was the most raucous affair I've ever seen @ a Ride (sing-a-long anyone?) and all the other details are gonna hafta wait 'cuz

I

am

fried.

It was a good day for JDRF and a bad day for diabetes. We'll take that.

Later, friends.........MC

LAKE TAHOE RIDE REPORT ,DAY 4

2011-09-11T00:54:00.002-04:00

So........here we are. The bikes are ready, the riders are ready, the crew is ready. The course awaits. Lake Tahoe sits there, probably unimpressed w/ our efforts - but if it knew the power, the passion and the outright burning drive that is assembled here @ the Embassy Suites it might think different!

Today was a great day. We hit breakfast @ 7:00 then Berger & Pea fired up the Bike Room while I hit the Coach's Meeting. After that we had the Rider's Meeting then the Tune Up Ride. The loop went out the back of the hotel lot, looped around through town,down to the shore of the lake then back up and around. And when I say "up" I mean it! The climb back up to the lot was a grim reminder that the air is 25% thinner 'round here!

After the ride and an hour or so in the shop we closed for lunch. Lunch was awesome! Brother Roy treated us to the tram ride up to the top of the mountain.....9100-some feet above sea level and flat out bee-yoo-ti-ful in every direction. We ate in the lodge up there, jumped back in the tram and were back @ it by 2:00. I had the Bike Fit Seminar @ 2:30, shared the Cycling 101 discussion w/TsC @ 3:30 then headed back to the shop. (Didn't need to - Pea and Berger had it handled!)

Then - dinner time. Good vibe in the room, good eats........it was great. Tim and I split the emcee (har!) duties and the reviews were kind so at least I didn't embarrass myself or you guys! Green and Yellow jerseys were awarded, folks were recognized and thanked, BikeFace was discussed and then we sort of called it a night.

Another brief stint in the shop, a nice chat w/ TsC & Coach Keith from Dallas and.....here I am.

In 8 hours or so we'll roll out. In 20 or so we'll be done & (hopefully!) another successful ride will be in the books.

I'll let you know!

Good night team, you rock - but you know that, right?

Right!

MC

TAHOE RIDE REPORT, DAY 3

2011-09-10T08:48:00.002-04:00

Friday @ this Ride is the "Thursday" of all the other ones. In other words - everything is moved back a day 'cuz we ride on Sunday........travel day is Friday, tune up ride is Saturday, etc.

So - anyway - I wanted to tell ya 'bout yesterday.........

'Twas a good day -your trusty Bike Room Crew / West Mi reps were breaking fast @ 7:00-ish and in the shop soon thereafter. Around lunchtime or thereabouts small groups of riders started trickling in. This is always one of my (many!) favorite parts of a Ride weekend......greeting familiar faces, meeting the new ones, hugs, laughs, high fives, fist bumps & handshakes.........yeah, sign me up!

We kept crankin' bikes together - they kept showing up - we snuck out for a quick burrito in there somewhere and by 5:00-ish we looked around and all the bikes were done. There was the typical flurry of "Here are my pedals, can you put 'em on?" and "If I go buy a computer can you install it?' and "Are my tires okay?' and such but hey........that's what we're here for!

All in all 'twere a dang fine day - even if we found ourselves havin' dinner @ 10:30! (Don't tell my mom that I went in the hot tub afterwards w/out waiting 30 minutes!)

The vibe @ the reception was great. There are LOTS of new riders here. (That's the official # by the way - I asked Aly the % of new riders & she said...quoting here... "Lots". So - there you go!) Fellow Head Coach Tim and I talked a lot about how we're just not gonna accept having this Ride be ANYTHING less than awesome+........we'd like to see this Ride grow! It's unique, the area is fabulous - Jeez...even Katie "Death Valley or Bust!" Clark sez she might wanna come here in 2012 so you gotta assume there's joy n' wonder to be had!

So - with Death Valley coming at us like a freight train we're gonna hunker down and make sure the 85 riders here w/ us this weekend have a "big time" as TSC might say. The weather has co-operated thus far despite a mixed forecast (the moon had a big ring around it's stunning self last night) and hopefully that trend will continue. In an hour we'll be @ breakfast, then we'll open the bike room for the morning rush. Rider's meeting @ 9:00, tune up ride @ 9:45 then there will be the typical post ride flurry of gear adjustments and other bike work. We're gonna have lunch w/ teammate Roy (who's been rockin' a sweet bikeface since he arrived) then I have the fit seminar, the Cycling 101 seminar and I wanna sit in on the Riding w/ Type 1 discussion as well. ( I always learn something and there's SO MUCH to learn!!!!!)

Tonight we'll hand out the Green & Yellow jerseys, enjoy each other's company and get ready for an early start in the morning. Given the massive significance of the day there are all sorts of 9/11-related aspects to the roll out. I guess we're being led out by the local Fire and First Responder units. I expect it to be a powerful morning!

And then we'll ride........for loved ones, for friends and family, for a cause we believe in, for as many individual reasons as there are riders in the JDRF jersey and more.

But....if you're reading this odds are you get that - probably better'n this old fool!

So - I might not be able to get back to this novel 'til late tomorrow......after the Ride I switch back into Full On Bike Room Mode 'cuz we have 'til about noon Tuesday to get all these bikes packed back up.....but rest assured that you guys will be in our thoughts as we rock the next 40 hours or so!

Talk to you soon.......keep being the rock stars you are!

Tahoe Ride Report- Days 1 & 2

2011-09-09T08:50:00.002-04:00

Hey Team!
Y'know- in yearspast I've done a far better job of tellin' y'all what's been goin' down @ the various Rides to Cure than I have this year.......but I promised Nicole (among others) that I'd get back into the swing of it (plus my complete inability to sleep beyond 7am EST) so.........here we are!

The Bike Room Crew of Jeremy "Berger"Berghorst, Patti "Pea" Bills and yours truly left GRR on Wed morning and in no time flat found themselves eating fish tacos in Reno. (el Pescadoro- recommended!) The drive to South Lake Tahoe was accomplished w/out further delay and we arrived @ the Embassy Suites (on the CA side thank God!) by 3:00-ish. Some of you may recall the endless whining and bitching about our accommodations in 2010 across the NV border @ the "MontPhew" Casino, (Derek still shows signs of the scarring, and he was only there 1/2 of the time!) so needless to say it was gratifying to drive right past that s-hole and across the street into CA!

That's literally how it works, by the way. The city of South Lake Tahoe is split in 2 by the line 'tween the 2 states ("State Line Road" - clever, no?) and you can literally walk across a narrow drive from the deck of our hotel and into what is basically Las Vegas. (Ewwwwwwww)

But I digress.............

We checked in (and I apparently immediatly lost the key to the dang rental van, but that's another tale) and discovered that our designated bike room wasn't gonna be "ours" 'til 5pm Thursday so we scoped out the place, determined that our shipment of tools and workstands had actually shown up, met the folks here @ the hotel that were destined to be our allies for the week and ....well...kinda chilled a bit.

I know, it seemed odd to us as well! Whatterya gonna do?

Thursday dawned bright and cool - exactly like the weather we left behind in the 616. Main Man Tommy (the bellhop-concierge-knows where all the bodies are buried-happens to be Type 1- gonna be our best asset dude) showed us our options as far as real estate (there's not really a space here that's ideal for both bike work and bike storage - we're kinda improvising) and we figured it all out. After breakfast we set up a temp Bike Room on the deck alongside the hotel and got to it.

FYI - this is a different kinda JDRF Ride in several ways: We are "piggy-backing" on an established ride (like Tucson) and we have 85 riders coming in. This will be the smallest RtC of the season. The ride is Tour de Tahoe (aka Bike Big Blue) and it'll have 2500-ish riders all together. The 2 route options are the 72 mile loop 'round the lake or the 36 mile ooption of takin' a sternwheel steamer from here up to the north side of the lake and then riding the 2nd half of the route. It's got some decent climbs, awesome views of the lake and despite the shorter distance the altitude (we're @ 6200+' here in town) makes it plenty challenging.

So - there's nothing not to like about spending the day wrenchin' bikes together on a perfect California day in the fresh air and sunshine! It's kind of a dang shame that we had to pack up and move inside but at least the Bike Room has lotsa windows (sorry Did!!) and direct access to the outside. We got about 25 bikes ready - there are 35-ish waiting for us down there as I type plus the riders (including our team mate Roy!) will start rollin' in today so productivity drops a bit as we hafta add "welcome commitee" and sometimes "tour director" to our list of duties.

Yeah, I know.....it stinks.

Not.

So - here we are. The circus is back in town and will be 'til we roll back towards Reno on Tuesday afternoon. (assuming I find that damn key - grrrrr!)

As usual I'm struck w' the feeling of how unlikely and wonderful this whole thing is - that 100+ people from all over the country are gonna be here united in one goal - and even more how fortunate I am to be allowed to take part. I'll never understand whay that is.........but I'm supremely grateful!

Almost as grateful as I am proud to be a part of a team with all y'all. (Tim St Clair will be here today - gotta git ma southern on!)

More later, I promise.

MC

Labor Day team ride update

2011-09-04T14:20:00.002-04:00

Heyo, just a quick note - due to the amount of post-duathlon ruckus that's scheduled for the Cannonsburg area tomorrow, we're going to push our start time back to 1 pm. All other details remain the same - 30-40 miles at an easy pace, etc.

See you there!

Ahhh, the last team ride of August

2011-08-29T22:01:00.002-04:00

Yeah, nice, wasn't it? It was about 20 degrees cooler than it was last year, downright chilly in the morning and incredibly pleasant in the afternoon. The company for the day:

Cindy

That Rob Guy

2 Clarks from Holland

2 Clarks from Grandville

2 Coury Lads

2 Dykstras

Mike H

2 Machutas

Dawn M

Stewart

3 Scheidels

Brad not-fork-or-knife-er (yeah, I'll never get tired of that)

Diana S.

LTP

John VDB

Chris R

SGS/Hosts Paul & Kami W, who deserve our unending thanks for AGAIN opening up their wonderful house to the Horde of Us! The place is really beautiful, the setting, the water, the deck, the grill, the available routes to ride - you name it, this is a total highlight of the summer! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

So, 30 hilly miles - how'd that feel? Then 42 somewhat less hilly miles? Not too bad? Fun? Cookies? Looks to me like we did a pretty good job of following the really-important-rules that MC laid out a couple of days ago, with the staying 2 abreast, and getting good and narrow when there's a car back. Always keep that in your mind, whether you're riding alone or with a group; when you are with a group, keep communicating with each other - "I'll go ahead" or "Go ahead and pull in front of me" are things you're gonna want to be saying, hearing, and thinking, especially when we're in single-file-only Death Valley.

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, so we don't have any pre-planned team rides - but I'm pretty sure we'll have some opportunities for ya. I'll start with Monday, since that's more solid at this point - Kirsten D. and Sarah A. are doing the Honey Creek Duathlon, and we're planning to add some miles after that. The race is at 9:30 in the morning, so we figure that around noon we'll roll from Townsend Park, and do between 30 and 40 miles at a nice, easy, post-race pace. If you're interested, pester me.

We'd also like to do something on Sunday, and I'm open to ideas - anyone got any needs or wants or wishes they'd like granted (as long as they involve turnin' the cranks), again with the pestering me. If I don't hear anything by, say, Thursdayish, I'll make something up. I've got 50 to 55 miles in the back of my head, but that's just a barely-formed thought.

The next official team ride will be on September 17 from New Richmond Park in GR, and will include our making an appearance at the JDRF Walk event. How's that for cool?

Keep riding, raising, loving and rocking -

did

Death Valley "Extra Credit" Ride Details

2011-08-29T09:51:00.003-04:00

Okay - this post is for those of you looking for an extra "challenge" to add some spice (and sweat!) to your Death Valley experience.

(We call this ride the "Death Valley Death March" ...at least that's what the tee shirt says....but I didn't wanna use that in the title of this post. Besides - J2 asked me to change it)

The "D.V.D.M." (or whatever) is a ride a few of us are gonna do on Thursday, 10/13 while most folks are traveling to DV. It involves leaving Furnace Creek in the AM, riding out into the Valley, up through a curvy, hilly loop called Artist's Palette and then starting the HUGE climb up to Dante's View. The climb is a full 25 miles long, topping out w/ a 25% grade at the end. The view from the top is amazing - we'll be a vertical mile above the valley, looking down @ the road that we'll ride on Saturday.

Needless to say - the return trip is a BLAST!

We'll have some support.......Lin will meet us twice along the 70-ish mile route w/ food and fluid.

IMPORTANT!!! - This is NOT a JDRF ride in any way, shape or form. It's not authorized by JDRF, recognized by the Park Service or anyone else. This is a few folks goin' for a ride and lookin' for some o' that pain/pleasure stuff. (You know who you are!)

Reasons not to do it:

It's HARD - possibly harder than the ride on Saturday. I'd hate to see anyone screw up the "real" Ride by blowing themselves out on Thursday! (For the record - the 5 of us that did it last year all had good rides on Saturday...jus' sayin')

The logistics are a pain - we'll have the bikes there by then, no sweat. But - you'll need a place to sleep on Wed night...on your dime...... and you'll hafta make the arrangements.

So - if you have any doubts at all in your ability to push yourself on Thursday, recover on Friday and ride at your best on Saturday.......this might not be your ride. (Make that "is not"!)

If you are still reading...and interested/intrigued - let me know that you're in (mike@velo-citycycles.com) and we'll chat!

Ride on you RockStars!

A Reminder, a Plea, a Warning even....

2011-08-26T16:07:00.003-04:00

This conversation is probably overdue and for that I apologize. But it's been on my mind and I kinda want it to be on yours as we wrap up the summer and head into Fall and all that promises.....

I've attended two 2011 Rides already - and from the driver's seat of a SAG wagon I've seen the same issue in VT and WI. Namely - JDRF riders (and , sadly, coaches) violating the single-file rule and blocking the road.

I see it on team rides too, not to mention the shop rides, club rides and pretty much every dang ride I do.

But - when it comes to the Tahoe Ride, or Death Valley, or Tucson (but especially DV) here's why it matters so much, why you're gonna hear WAY more about it that you have in the past (trust me!!) and why Coach Derek and I are gonna be beating this drum @ every training ride from here on out:

We can't afford the $5,000,000 rider!

What (or who) is that, you ask?

That's the rider that causes the Ride Program to go away. Shut down. Disappear. We're gonna raise 5 mil + this year & that's a lotta money to spend on research so that your friends and mine won't hafta deal w/ diabetes!

The rider that gets themselves seriously injured or even worse (shudder!) could be that rider.

The rider that wears out our welcome in DV...or on the streets of Burlington, or the country roads of MN or Iowa could be that rider too.

And that'd be a damn shame!

So - when we ask you to ride legal (which means no more than 2 abreast!) that's the reason.

And when you get to Death Valley (or any Ride venue) and Tim or I plead w/ everyone from the microphone @ dinner or the pre-ride meeting to ride single file...that's why.

For the first time in the Program's history we got a complaint from the authorities...the MN State Police contacted us about the conduct of our riders during the La Crosse Ride. And this was after Tim had pleaded w/ the coaches and riders the day before to stay single file and share the road!

Disappointing to say the least.

So - that was the reminder and plea section.......this is the warning portion of this note: Based on the level of frustration amongst the Nat'l Ride Staff and the Head Coaches I won't be at all surprised if someone gets pulled from a Ride this year. I got a decent amount of backtalk from riders AND coaches in La Crosse as I tried to get folks to move over and behave themselves and that didn't go over very well when I shared that fact w/ Trish, Aly and Tim after the Ride.

So - I'll be preaching this gospel at every Team Ride from now on and I apologize to those of you that "get it" & don't need to hear it.

Please be safe and keep riding and being the Rock Stars that you are!

And thanks for listening..................Coach Mike

This Week in Preview

2011-08-22T09:57:00.003-04:00

We're "fresh" off ODRAM (and, for a select trio, MARDO), but we have a HUGE week upon us so no rest for the weary!

WEDNESDAY! We need you to come to the Grattan Raceway (mappity map map), because it's JDRF night! We are the sponsoring group for the bicycle races, which means we are handling the organization and prizes for the night. We need people to help with registration, prize handling, lap counting, and final placing, AND we need prizes! MC and VCC are going to provide some merchandise, but we need more "primes" (that's "preems" as in "premiums") to award folks at intermediate times. The traditional thing is baked goods - cookies, pies, cupcakes, bread, etc. - but we're open to pretty much anything.

So, for working OR for providing primes & prizes, please get in touch with me (diddidit@gmail.com) and let me know.

We would also love to have you race! Wha? Race? Of course! We have a "C" division that pretty much anyone can ride. The track is amazing to ride on - wide, smooth, wonderful fast corners, and a grippy surface. It's 1.8 miles around the track; the C racers will go 3 laps, so it's all of 5.4 miles. It's an experience unlike anything you've otherwise done! If you can come race, wear your Pink Peloton jersey, assuming you've got one...

Here's the schedule for the evening:

registration opens at 5:30

track opens to riders for warmup at 6:00

Tandem race (3 laps) will start at 6:30

C race (3 laps) will start 1 minute after the tandems (at 6:31)

A race (20 laps) will start at 6:50

B race (15 laps) will start 1 minute after the A race.

It's $10 for a tandem, $5 for C (or to just ride on the track during the warmup time), $15 for A or B racers.

This SUNDAY we will have a repeat of the really awesome Barlow Lake ride that we did last year, thanks to Linda T-P. Rollout time will be 9 AM sharp for the 30-something mile first loop, and 11:45 AM for the 40-something mile second loop. Post ride we'll have... FOOD! and a LAKE! and more FOOD! and US! Further details will be emailed later this week.

Until then,

Impromptu Team Ride

2011-08-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

For those not riding in the ODRAM on Saturday (or those that do and want even more mileage) we are putting together an unofficial team ride on Sunday. Ride leaves at 1:00 from Tom and Mary's house in Rockford (email us if you need directions). We'll do about 50 miles and then grill out on the patio afterwards. Sort of like a Wine Wednesday ride, but we'll call this one Sangria Sunday. Bring whatever and whoever you want. This will be casual, one loop, with a shower or hose option at the end. Please let us know if you are planning to attend.
Ride On.

August already?!?!

2011-08-09T21:57:00.003-04:00

August - it's hot, for the most part. Mercifully, my lawn has settled down and doesn't need to be mowed every weekend (not that I do that). Back to School ads are in full cry, and... well, it's the height of riding season in West Michigan!

Bend your thoughts towards Wisconsin, as tomorrow MC and Berger drive West to La Crosse to do the Bike Room/BikeFace thing at the second ride event of the year. On Saturday, Dan Ensing will be doing his first JDRF ride, along with veterans Chris and Julie Radford - folks, I wish you lots and lots of goosebump moments! For the rest of us, follow the #bikeface hashtag on Twitter for live updates from the event, and start building up your goosebump muscles...

So, I owe ya a ride report! This past Sunday we planned an official 70ish mile total, but ACTW Kirsten wanted to get in a good century before doing the One Day Ride Across Michigan on the 20th so a few hardy wheels started off from Townsend Park with a 32-mile Loop Zero. The day's roll call:

Cindy A.

Sarah A.

Linda C.

did

Kirsten

Past rider Jeff H.

Mike H, once again rockin' the trike

Tom M.

Stewart M.

Jason S.

El Kaato Diablo

John VDB

and Chris R, gettin' in a last one before heading for the the Cheddar Curtain.

For the century folks - my usual mapping site claims 6,223 feet of climbing. I'm inclined to believe it. If any of you want to work on your climbing legs, the Townsend Park area is a fine place to do so!

Special thanks go to Jason, for being our host for the day and providing some most excellent post-ride grilled chicken sandwiches. Y'know, I remember when after a ride everyone just went home - I like this better!

Now, we had two more folks along for the ride (har) as well - first off, we had SGS Molly P, who many of us met at the Allegrina 100, and who also rode with Stacey Orsted and Sarah Andro in the ALS ride in June. I was bummed to find out that Molly's moving back to Boston shortly - we ALMOST had her fully ensnared in our warm, fuzzy tentacles, but, life happens, so we wish ya well, and we hope to see you again! I would have to guess that Molly going to Death Valley would result in some additions to this gallery...

Our other Special Guest Star... y'know what? I ain't gonna tell you the story, because it's closing in on mythological status. But, if you've been hanging out on the Book of Faces, you've perhaps noticed a flood of people doin' the Friend thing with one Lindsey Stacy. If you haven't done so already, join that flood, because, yeah. Lindsey did her first group ride ever on Sunday. And her first century. Lindsey's been riding for about two months. And she finished with pure BikeFace.

Next team ride is August 28 - we'll be repeating that way-cool ride we did from Barlow Lake last year. More info will be forthcoming. Until then, ride lots and raise lots, and, of course, rock lots!

Team Ride This Sunday!!!!

2011-08-04T12:49:00.003-04:00

Hey y'all!

Well - Ride to Cure #1 is in the books AND solidly in the win column as 144 riders rasied over 550,000 more reasons that Type 1's goose is cooked! I can tell ya more about iot this weekend 'cuz we gotta ride to do!

I know the info's on FaceBook, but not everybody hangs out there as much as the Dykstras do...(actually no one does!) so here's the straight scoop:

Where - Townsend Park in Cannonsburg Township

When - 1st ride @ 10am / 2nd ride @ 1:00pm

What - 1st ride 30-ish miles / 2nd ride 40-ish miles.

Who - hosted by Jason Sigal

Why - well - if yagotta ask.......Death Valley is 10 weeks away!!!!!!!!!!!!

More stuff - Chef Jason's gonna be grillin' chicken sandwiches after loop 2. (yum!) Please let him know you're coming either via FB or by calling him @ 847-971-3369 so he has food for you! Feel free to bring anything else you think sounds yummy.

Optional century variation - Did, Kirsten, Kaat & myself are meeting there @ 7:30 to add on another loop - feel free to join us!

That's all for now......hoping to see you this weekend, either @ Van Andel or the ride. (Cindy still needs folks @ VA - jus' sayin'!)

Keep rocking like only you know how!

Coach Mike

TEAM JERSEY: ORDER NOW!

2011-07-25T21:54:00.003-04:00

As promised, it's now time to order our brand-new West Michigan team jerseys! Here's the deal:

1. These are NOT the ride day jerseys. Those are included as part of your fundraising. This is a special jersey just for our team (+ past team members/family/donors/friends of the team/etc.).

2. Cost will be determined by how many we order. For now, plan on $55 per jersey. Could be less. Notta bad deal.

3. We strongly suggest you refer to this size chart (Men's Club, Women's, and Kid's) for your sizing. Based on sizes we've already received, they run small (especially the women's ones).

4. HOW TO ORDER: Send an email to Nicole with your size preference and quantity by THIS THURSDAY JULY 28, 5:00pm. We will be placing the order on Friday. If you wrote down your size/quantity at Sunday's team ride, consider yours ordered. We do not anticipate ordering a lot (or any) extras. Order what you need now. For those of you who rode in 2010 and are taking the credit option (you know who you are), be sure to confirm your size choice to Nicole.

5. Your payment will be TBD. We have to see how many are ordered and how we'll handle payments. Stay tuned.

If you want to double check that yours is ordered and size is right, you can see the list here.

(S)team Ride Report

2011-07-24T21:36:00.003-04:00

Yarp, 'twas a steamer indeedie! But, by the standards of the last few days, it was relatively pleasant. Of course, the real pleasentry came from the company we all kept, in one or the other or both of our 30 and 40 mile loops:

Superhosts Nicole & Cliff

Jasker

Tom S.

Cupcake Mary

Maggie

Tom M.

Jason

Mike H.

Katie

Steve

Chris

Becky

LTP

Linda C.

John VDB

Diana S.

Stacey O.

Dawn R., previewing what "Trikin' Dawn" would look like

Kevin C.

Transportation hero Joe K.

Kirsten

and Me, with my ultra-super little dude Dane, who is closing in on 800 miles of riding this year!

I'm gonna keep this short, as there's gonna be a fair chunk of info coming your way shortly regarding, well, other stuff, but, this was an awfully nice way to spend 70 miles! I saw a lot of you folks riding really, really well today; we're inside 3 months to Death Valley, and I think that in general we're in a good place on the bike.

Sure would be cool if we could have walk-in coolers to hang out in in DV, eh?

Special thanks to Cliff, for opening up his very new house to us (and letting us use his showers, which felt so good that I'm pretty sure must have poured forth unicorn tears), and to the ever-awesome Nicole, for the delish pile of kebabs that greeted us after the showers!

Next team ride will be in 2 weeks, on August 7, in the East GR area - details, as always, will be here.

The rocking, today - it rocked!

(S)team Ride: Sunday 7.24

2011-07-18T12:53:00.006-04:00

The FAQ:

What is it?

Team + friends + past team + whoever ride. Two loops around Saugatuck/Douglas/Fennville/Hamilton. Food afterward.

RSVP here or on Facebook is greatly appreciated.

When is it?
Sunday, July 24
10:00am roll - Loop 1, 30ish* miles
12:30pm (approx) roll - Loop 2, 40ish** miles

Where is it?
Cliff & Nic's place. Huge bummer, the bridge & ramp at US-31 & Blue Star/Washington/58th in Holland (if you're coming from the north, this is the way the directions will say to go) is closed. Follow posted detours and you'll find us. Just plan on an extra 5-10 minutes of driving. If you're coming from anywhere but north, this won't affect you.

Where can I park?
So, we're kinda new to this hood, and we don't want to bum out our new neighbors with cars parked all along the road. So, we'll ask that the first six cars' worth of people use our driveway, and then we're gonna ask you to park about 5 houses away (our cars + a sign will be there) from our house in this common area thingy. It's a teeny walk/bike ride to our house from where your car will be, but not too bad. Promise. Thanks for understanding.

I've got kids. Is that a good enough excuse not to ride?
Not this time, friend. You're on your own for Loop 1, but there's little reason why you couldn't do Loop 2. Nicole is gonna hang back for the 2nd loop to get food ready and is happy to watch kiddos. She might make them work, but hey...it's good for 'em. We've got a play room for younger ones, and TV for bigger ones.

What's for food?
Nic's gonna doctor up some tasty grilled chicken/veggie kabobs, and probably something fun for the side. It'd be awesome if you wanted to partake in something pot-luckish. Even if that means a package of Oreos or whatever. Bring your own drinks too.

Can I un-stink?
Yep! We have showers that'll be available. Bring your own towel if you can--we don't have enough for all of the stink that pours off this group.

What's the forecast?
Look! It'll cool off on Sunday to a relatively chilly 89 90 degrees. Better dress in layers. Heh.

* - You know what this means.
** - Seriously, don't take Derek's mileage estimates too literally.

Extra Team Shirt(s)?

2011-07-12T09:08:00.003-04:00

We're ordering our team shirts this week. We are planning to order only enough to cover registered team members. However, if you would like to order extra(s), you may do so.

Cost is $11 per shirt, payable to the Chapter upon receipt.

You must let Nicole (nicole.nelles@gmail.com) know by Wednesday, noon if you're interested. Please include quantity and size.

Shirt front and back
Shirt color - Evergreen at this link (likely with gray design)

Thanks!

RIDE REPORT 07-10-11 (and more!)

2011-07-11T09:05:00.003-04:00

Wow!
What a great day for The World's Coolest Team! It was almost warm enough to serve as effective DV training, our hostess w/ the mostess Sarah Andro was the bomb, the routes were.......umm.....interesting & we had a great turn-out for both loops!

There was even an Ice Cream Sag Wagon! (If you were riding at the right place @ the right time)

So - on to the details.................

Ride #1 rolled @ 9am - possibly the earliest non-Ride-Day roll out ever for this team & covered 25 pretty hilly miles. Roll Call:
Coach Did
Tom M
SGS John (Tom's bud)
Sarah A
SGS Barb (Sarah's co-worker)
BikeFace Patti B
Kaat
Rob A (!!!!!!!!!!)
John "Big" Jasker
JD
Nick Coury - on his 1st ever Team Ride stokin' w/ MC on the tandem and
Spencer Coury - on his 1st ride and rockin' the lead pack on his hybrid!

Everyone rode great and we were back @ casa da Andro in plenty o' time to re-fuel and meet up w/ the group for Ride #2.

That ride rolled @ 12:10 and covered 36 also hilly miles. There was a bit of...shall we say....adventure? as Google Maps left Map-Maker Derek hangin' more than once.

Oh well! It's all good, right?

Ride #2 Roll Call:
Did, Kaat, Pea, MC and J2 from the first ride
Steve and Katie C
Becky and Chris M
Cindy A
Nic N
Stewart M
Linda TP
Kevin P
Jason S
Chris R
SGS Chad P (friend of MC, J2, JD)
SGS Chris (friend of Sarah's)
Replacement Stoker Deluxe Linda C
Chris R
Tom and Ian S

Post Ride festivities featured grilled burgers n' brats, pasta salad, Nic's Killer Salad, fresh salsa, various sweets and a surprise appearance from Mike and Teresa Howard.

Many calories were consumed, much laughter was shared and fellowship was observed breaking out all over.

In other words - 'twas a typical awesome day and a reminder to this reporter as to what a blessing it is to be part of this Team!

Massive thanks to Sarah and Phyliis for the hospitality!
Extra props to Nic, Cindy & the Grandville Clarks for racin' Saturday and joinin' us Sunday!
Extra massive props to Team Coury for rockin' the way they did on Ride #1!

Remember - the Holland Hundred is this weekend. Yesterday Tom Miller announced that there might be some hours left if you still wanna earn some $ in your Ride Account.

Also - a few of us are headin' up to do the Ride Around Torch Lake on Saturday night after the HH. Contact Kaat for more info.

Next Team Ride is from Cliff n' Nicole's just south of Holland. The date is 7/24 and the details wil be announced shortly.

So - to wrap this up.......great day, great time, great food. This Team rocks, you guys rock, diabetes is gonna wish it never heard of us!

See you soon - Coach Mike

VT - 18 days
WI - 31 days
Tahoe - 60 days
DV - 90 days
AZ - 127 days

More Holland Hundred opportunities

2011-07-04T14:45:00.000-04:00

The volunteer spreadsheet for the Holland Hundred is full. Thanks Tom Miller for putting that together. We do have an additional opportunity to raise some cash at the HH. We would like to sell Energy Floats again this year. Root Beer XS and ice cream. Yum!
The pay out will be different than the other volunteer positions, but the shifts aren't as long, so this is great for someone who wants to ride in the morning and work the afternoon. Looking for two people between 12 and 5 p.m. This could be broken into two shifts, so we'd need four people total. If you are interested please email Tom Scheidel for all the details.

Summer is here, lots to share...

2011-06-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Summer is here, lots to share with you.

EARN CASH NOW: HOLLAND HUNDREDWe have now confirmed details for volunteering at the Holland Hundred on Saturday, July 16 to earn cash for your Ride account ($20+/hour plus bonuses). View all details and the spreadsheet here. You should be able to add your name directly. PLEASE PLEASE read the instructions carefully. Much has changed from previous years, and your commitment, while longer in time, will result in a LOT more cash toward your goal.

Enter your name AFTER reading the instructions, and please commit no later than Friday, July 8. Contact Tom Miller with questions.

UPCOMING RIDES: In short, there’s lots of ‘em. Saturday 7/2: In Montague @ Katie Clark’s folks’ house on White Lake. 9:30am roll-out, 30ish miles, boat/lake/hot dogs on the fire afterward. See blog post here for more details.
Sunday 7/3: Johnson Park in GR, 1:00pm roll-out, 40ish miles
Monday 7/4: Velo City in Holland, 11:00am roll-out, 40ish miles
Sunday 7/10: Sarah Andro’s place in GR
Sunday 7/24: Cliff & Nic’s place in Saugatuck/Hamilton
Sunday 8/7: Jason Sigal’s place in GR
Sunday 8/24: tentative Barlow Lake ride with Linda Thompson-Poeder’s gang

Ongoing rides you should check out:

Mondays:
- 6:30pm roll-out from the Holland Aquatic Center (Macatawa Cycling Club). Lotsa groups, lotsa paces.

Tuesdays:
- 6:00pm roll-out for the internationally famous Velo City Cycles Tuesday Night Ride. Lotsa groups, lotsa paces.
Wednesdays: - Call/email/Facebook someone. We bet you’ll find someone who wants to ride.

Thursdays:
- 8:30am roll-out for the VCC Recovery Ride, 25-30 miles followed by bagels at The Good Earth.
- 6:00pm Tom Miller is now also hosting a weekly ride from his place in Grand Haven. Show up & ride!
- 8:15pm roll-out for the VCC Thursday Night Lights ride - lights required. Night rides are so cool.

Fridays:- 8:30am roll-out for the VCC Bagel Ride. 25-30 miles followed by bagels at The Good Earth (yes, again).

Saturdays:- 8:00am roll-out for the VCC Sprint or No-Sprint Ride. Your pick.

BIKE TRANSPORTATION FOR DEATH VALLEYWe are thrilled to report that bike transportation has been secured for ALL of our riders heading to Death Valley this fall. If you selected the Gold fundraising option, your bike transportation is covered by your fundraising goal. If picked the Silver or Bronze package, you will be responsible for the cost, which will be, likely, less than $200 per bike (for reference, this is a super good deal). Details to come later this summer, but please know that we’re really excited to have this covered, and even more excited that Friend of Team Joe Kovacs will be joining us in DV!

SHIRTS & JERSEY UPDATELooks like we’ll all be sporting excellent BikeFace tshirts this summer, soon! Thanks for your votes. Shirts will be available in July, hopefully in time for the Holland Hundred volunteers. You are allocated one shirt if you’re on the team this year. If you’re a Friend of the Team, or would like to purchase extra shirt(s) for family/friends/donors, you may do so. Cost/payment info will be shared on the blog later this week.

Most of you expressed interest in purchasing a team training jersey to start phasing out the pink pancreas cell jerseys. The design is nearly finished, and will be posted soon for you to check out. We should have these in-hand by mid-August.

WHO INSPIRES YOU?Why do you ride? Why do your ride for JDRF?
Send an electronic photo (or, if it’s easier, a link to a webpage photo is fine!) of the person/people that keep you pedaling to Nicole Nelles by Friday, July 15.

GUT CHECK - LEGSSo, it’s basically July. Have you been to some training rides? Are you logging enough miles on your own (at least 50 per week if you’re going to DV)? Do you have a healthy jump on your fundraising goal (DV folks should have $750 by mid-July)? Have you sent out your emails/letters to donors? We’re not trying to hound you…but we want to be sure that you’re on top of things so you can enjoy this experience as much as possible. If we haven’t seen you at a training ride yet (you know who you are!), carve out some time and c’mon out. We have groups cruising at 14mph and groups hammering at 20mph+, and everyone in between. One of the bonuses of being on the Coolest Team Ever is, well, that we’re a team that has a heckuva good time when we’re together. If you haven’t gotten a good start on fundraising, there’s no time like the present. Your teammates can help you with some ideas on that, too.

GUT CHECK - FUNDRAISING

Katie wrote a blog post about this just today. Check it out here.

That’s it. Let us know if you have any questions or need ANYTHING at all.
See you this weekend, we hope!
Coach MC, Coach Did, Nicole, Katie, Tom, Cindy, and Cathy

unofficial Team Ride in Montague on July 2nd

2011-06-28T17:45:00.000-04:00

It's not an official Ride Team team ride, but Katie & Steve will be taking over her parents house on White Lake in Montague, MI while they go visit friends across the state. Ssssshhhhh! ;-)

Ride Start Time: 9:30am

Start Location: Katie's Parents House (it's 60 minutes from Grand Rapids)

Who: anyone who wants to ride 30 - 40 miles (Derek is making the route - that's a big "ish") and their family who want to hang out at the beach, or see the World's Largest Weathervane, Pier, White Lake Lighthouse, etc. while we ride.

What about a sitter: Yes, we will have one - the same one who watches kids at our house (Kaley - just so happens she's from Montague ;-)

That's a long drive for 30-mile ride: BUT, we'll have hotdog roast, and play in the water and on the boat all afternoon. We have kayaks too. It'll be a fun way to start the 4th weekend.

What to bring? We'll have hotdogs and s'more makings. We'll provide the paper products as well. We'll have some cold XS Energy & water on ice as well. Bring a beverage of your choice and if you want - something easy to eat by a campfire on the beach.

(oh, and this isn't roughing it - the house is just up the hill from the firepit & beach)

What if I can't be there by 9:30am? Come on over around 1pm for an afternoon at the lake.

Please let Katie know if you will be there. Comment here, call her (299-3637) or email her. If you want to use the sitter, let Katie know that too so she can let Kaley know (she may choose to bring backup!).

Hope you can make it!

The SCARY part of the Ride to Cure Diabetes - FUND RAISING!

2011-06-28T13:34:00.004-04:00

Riding your bike is fun. You've met tons of great people, have had lots of laughs, but it's not really why we are here. We signed up for this adventure to raise money for JDRF so they can find that elusive cure for type 1 diabetes.

It's time to get in gear and start raising some dough…

I know, I know: It's scary. It's hard. and I know, you "don't like asking people for money". I get it. No one does. You are not alone (interestingly enough - I use this line many times with newly diagnosed type 1 families.) To try to help you get started, I've put together a list of ways our Ride to Cure team have raised funds in the past and the contact info of those who have done the various projects:

Work Van Andel events (and bring your friends to raise money for you!): Basically, you schlep beer and hot dogs to concert/game/event-goers and get paid an hourly wage (somewhere between $10 & $15/hr). Most events are 5 hours. Bring a friend or two and you can see how the money can start adding up fast. Contact Cindy Aley to get on the email list.

Host a "thing" Party - That thing can be almost anything - jewelry, food, makeup, candles, purses, plastic containers, etc. The idea is the person who comes to your house (the sales associate) gives you their "salary" for the night in exchange for something (usually, the 'host' gift, or something like that). These parties can raise $150 - $250 each. Becky Machuta, & Katie Clark have both done these types of parties.

Have a Get-together/Party & ask for donations - invite your friends & family over to your house or a park and ask for donations. Obviously - you have to give them something - ask a local band to play, have an entertainer donate their time (balloons?), get local store/restaurant to donate food/drink, etc. Some restaurants will give you a discounted price per person for buffet meals - JUST ASK!

Work the Holland 100 on July 16 - it's easy - direct cars parking, answer questions, give directions, pick up garbage. See team email and blog post coming soon about how to sign up for this year!

Have a Restaurant Fund-raiser. BW3, Corner Bar in Rockford, Beltline Bar & On the Border have all had fundraisers organized by our Ride team members. Normally the restaurant will donate 10 - 20% of their food sales for your chosen time period to JDRF. It's easy - call the restaurant and work out a date with the manager and find out how/where you can hand out flyers (some will just put them on all the tables for you, some will ask you not solicit their patrons and rather spread the word before the event). Another $100 - $500 event that is easy to organize. Nicole Nelles, Tom Scheidel, & Cindy Aley have all done these types of events.

Hold an Event - Golf Outing (Katie Clark, Linda Thompson-Poeder), a 5K, a family fun day (Chris Radford), a cycling event, etc. This takes some work - a crew of volunteers to put on, but it can be done and can be a very big money raiser. These events also tend to do better on repeat attempts - first time is a lot of work and lots of lessons are learned - 2nd year tends to be more organized, and can raise more money.

Sell XS Energy Drink. This one is less hard and scary. Tom Scheidel has lined up a corporate sponsor in XS Energy Drinks. Tell Tom what you need, and sell them by the case for $15 each. ALL money goes directly to your Ride. There is no cost to you (and Tom & Mary would appreciate getting the cases of XS out of their garage). (Note: for those hosting events - Tom also has cases of water - no charge to use at your event that raises money for your Ride!)

Wear jeans/shorts/hat at Work Day - talk to your boss/manager about holding a dress-down day for your work place. People pay $5 ($10?, $20?) to wear less dressy clothes to work. Have JDRF stickers or something that people wear to show they paid. Easy! This is a proven fundraising endeavor used by lots of charities!

Send a Snail Mail Letter to everyone you have ever met with a self-addressed (not stamped!!!) envelope. The money starts rolling into your mailbox and it's exciting. Examples of letters sent in the past are on the website here. This, again, is a proven way to raise money for JDRF.

The easiest thing is to send an email from your Ride site with a brief messages as to why you are riding. JDRF National information systems staff have noted that the average donation online is larger (30%?) than for those made in cash & check form. Be sure to include an address that this individuals who don't like putting in credit card information online can send you a check made out to JDRF. Need help getting into the site and sending the email? Call the JDRF Michigan Great Lakes West Chapter at 616.957.1838 or email Katie.

The hardest part about fundraising is asking. Just do it. You'll be amazed at how many people give, and how much!

Any checks you get - have them made out to JDRF and send them to the JDRF office & the staff will apply those to your Ride account!

JDRF

4595 Broadmoor Avenue SE, Suite 230
Kentwood, MI 49512.

Good luck. Email me if you have questions or need more ideas. There are lots of blogs and fundraising ideas out there on the Internet - we can find one that will work for you to help you reach your fundraising goal!

Team Ride Photos

2011-06-27T17:16:00.000-04:00

Posted some photos from the team ride at Johnson Park back in May and the Allegrina 100 from Sunday. You can view them by clicking HERE.
Or you can watch the small version slide show below.

Hey, Hew, The Weekend in Review!

2011-06-13T20:05:00.008-04:00

When in doubt, rhyme it out, yo.

So, Team Ride Numero Six-O is in the bag, and it turned out - as is inevitable with US - awesome! And it may have featured the highest food-to-rider ratio that I've ever seen.

The call of the roll:

JD & Maggie, tandeming

John VDB

Kirsten the person

Kiersten the Nerf Cat

Kobie the Diabetic Pooch

Linda "look over there while I grab a pretzel stick" TP

Paul B

Superhost Stewart

New Rider Dawn MM - who arrived with 12 miles on her bike and left with more than triple that!

Chris R, with expanded family along for the eatin' (Hey Julie, when're we gonna see you rolling?)

SGS and Mistress of the Grill Brenda B

SGSs Kevin C and Dawn R - nice to see you two!

MC and Linda, also tandeming, and topping 47 mph down 7 Mile Hill

and li'l ol' me.

We covered 25 surprisingly chilly and perhaps a bit hilly miles, and were able to resist the call to ride the Blue Loop at Luton as we rode past. For the second loop, we lost a couple of riders but picked up a bunch more, and rolled our pleasant 35 miles uneventfully despite picking our way through Summerfest in Rockford.

Back at the ranch, we enjoyed turkey burgers that redefined what a turkey burger could taste like, and cookies, cheesy potatos, more cookies, some chips, and then a cookie or seven. Big, big, BIG props to Stewart and the sadly-absent Nathen for the spread, to Brenda for the grillwork, and to Cindy for somehow keeping the didlet from eating ALL of the saltwater taffy despite a sprained foot.

Now, turning our eyes forward - it's summer (or at least it's trying to be), so that means it's riding season! There are ride opportunities up the wazoo, and you're crazy if you don't hit at least some of them!

Saturday, June 18 (that's this Saturday!) - the ALS Iron Horse Ride from Fallasburg Park in Lowell. Up to 100 miles. Organized by our own Alpha-Plus rider Stacey Orsted, raising money for the ALS Association. Stacey's offered JDRF riders a discounted entry fee - contact me for details. Past rider Peggy Essenberg will be there - Peg lost her Mom to ALS. You and your bike have an almost unlimited capacity to do good!

Sunday, June 26: the 3rd annual Allegrina 100. One week after Father's day, our own Heather Allegrina hosts a ride honoring her late father, and all fathers. There will be 3 loops of 30-40 miles each and returning to Heather's house after each, so you can tailor the ride to as you see fit. Big post-ride hangout bash, too - if you come, you might maybe get a taste of some fine New Glarus beer! There will be a LOT of your team-mates at this one; I highly recommend putting it on your personal ride calendar. Heather's going to have childcare available, but she needs to know a solid week in advance. This is at the very top of my looking-forward-to-it list. There's more info at the Facebook link up there, or again with the contacting me for more info.

July 3 and or 4: there will be some sort of organized ride somewhere - stay tuned for deets!

July 10 we'll have a Team Ride in the Grand Rapids area; info's forthcoming.

July 16 is the Holland Hundred. JDRF is a named beneficiary for this huge event; we'll be looking for a chunk of volunteers to work that day, and you'll get an hourly rate deposited in to your fundraising account. Or, of course, you can ride! LOTS more information to come.

July 24 will be another Team Ride, location TBA.

Now, how about weekly scheduled rides? Yeah, there's a few of those:

Mondays:

6:30 pm rollout from the Holland Aquatic Center is the Macatawa Cycling Club Monday Night Ride. Big attendance, lots of groups, lots of paces.

Tuesdays:

6pm rollout for the internationally famous VeloCity Cycles Tuesday Night Ride. Lotsa groups, lotsa paces, lotsa distances.

6pm in the Muskegon area there's a nice women's ride that Kirsten really likes. Contact me if you're interested, the start location changes weekly.

Wednesdays:

6pm rollout for the VCC Not Racing At Grattan ride, 30ish miles

6pm-6:40 pm at Grattan Raceway you can ride the track while the racers warm up. $5 per rider to cover the insurance and track rental. Then you can watch the Grattan races. You NEED to see the Grattan races. NEED. Really. Monster awesome. Bring a camera and a cowbell.

Thursdays:

8:30 am rollout for the VCC Recovery Ride, 25-30 miles followed by bagels at The Good Earth.

6pm rollout at Rock&Road Cycles Grand Haven, great for paceline learnin' as they break it up enough to keep the groups down to 8-12 people.

8:15 pm rollout for the VCC Thursday Night Lights ride - lights required. Night rides are so cool.

Fridays:

8:30 am rollout for the VCC Bagel Ride. 25-30 miles followed by bagels at The Good Earth (yes, again).

Saturdays:

8 am rollout for the VCC Sprint Ride. Feelin' frisky and fierce? This ride's for you.

8 am rollout for the VCC No-Sprint Ride. You sweep up the remains of the Sprint Ride.

That's a PARTIAL selection of what's available to you. Don't wanna ride alone? You pretty much never have to! And, hey, put up a flag if you want to ride but none of these work for ya - we'll find a way, because (wait for it... waaaaait for it...nnnnNOW!) YOU ALL ROCK!

Riders doing "other" stuff

2011-06-10T13:29:00.000-04:00

Hey - I just found out we have riders doing some ride "stuff" for other organizations. Pretty cool....

Walt Florido of our awesome cycling team is riding 100 miles tomorrow (June 11th) in the American Diabetes Associations Tour de Cure in Brighton. Go Walt! http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/MichiganArea?pg=entry&fr_id=7589

AND

Stacey Orsted, one of our original riders (way back in 2005, and then rode with us in 2010 too), works for ALS Association and is putting on their Iron Horse Ride and then Beers & Gears event in Lowell on June 18th. http://web.alsa.org/site/TR?fr_id=7560&pg=entry

Cool stuff and we wish them well on their JDRF Ride extracurricular activities.

2011 Michigan Great Lakes West T-shirt design contest

2011-06-07T11:48:00.000-04:00

Below are the entries for the 2011 Michigan Great Lakes West Ride team tshirt (click each image for larger view).

Vote using the poll at right by Wednesday, June 15! (over there -------------> )

CHOICE A

front

back

Choice B

VOTE NOW! -->

JUNE 5 RIDE REPORT / JUNE 12 RIDE DETAILS! (RSVP required!)

2011-06-07T11:32:00.002-04:00

Hey Team!
Well - if you missed a chance to ride under sunny skies w/ us last Sunday....and eat fine chow alongside the lake....and take advantage of the pool and the playset and the shade...well...we missed you too!

MASSIVE thanks and kudos go out to JD and Maggie Stone (w/ help from John Jasker) for the hospitality, the food and the locale. MASSIVE!

Here's a list of who we got to hang out and ride with:

Cliff & Nicole, Becky & Chris, Coach Did & Kirsten, Lin & MC, Walt, John J, Tom, Jason, Tyson & Danielle, JD & Maggie, Kaat, John VDB, Heather & Brian, Paul, Brad "Crash" S, Dan, Chris, Julie & Travis R, Amy 2F, Melanie and bro Dan, the whole Berger fam (Jeremy, Joy and Sabine), Team Walker (SGS Nathan, Kevin & Keith), Cliff's folks and son.....if I missed you speak up! ( A thousand sorries!)

Extra GREAT to see so many new riders, so many Special Guest Stars and have so many fam members join us after the ride!

The "Dang! Almost made it home!" awards go to Tom and Kirsten for getting flats within 3 miles of the finish and an extra special "Bike Face in the Face of Adversity" Award goes to Kirsten for being so thrilled at her first flat.

Back @ the marina we enjoyed grilled chicken, brats and dogs plus snacks, salads n' sides of every description. YUM!

All in all - one of the best days of the season thus far.........................

..................which brings us to the NEXT "best day of the season so far"!

The next Team Ride is this Sunday, June 12. Read on for the scoop puh-leeze:

Where?: Hosted by Stewart, Nathen (in absentia) & Cindy. Map to their crib is here: http://tinyurl.com/nathenstewartcindy

When?: Once again - 2 options for your riding pleasure! Roll out @ 11:00 for 25-ish miles and/or @ 1:00 for 35-ish.

Then what?: Stewart's gonna fire up the grill and serve burgers. Feel free to add whatever else you think we're gonna want to the feast. For the sake of having enough food PLEASE RSVP TO COACH DEREK OR MYSELF!

Also - it'd be great if everyone brought along a chair or 2.........

The weather forecast keeps changing ((and no doubt will continue to do so) but it looks like it's gonna dry and cooler than it's been lately.

So - hopefully we'll have the pleasure of rollin' wit'cha this weekend. Hopefully you are getting some good miles under your wheels and your fund-raising is coming along as well. Be sure to let Coach Derek, myself and/or any member of the Ride Commitee know if you have any issues or concersns - be they bike, fitness, nutrition, fund raising or even fashion related! That's what we're here for!

That's it for now you Rock Stars! Be sure to spread the word if you see any team mates, past team mates or potential future team mates! They are all always welcome! (As long as they RSVP! :) )

You guys rock, but you know that - right! I'm proud as All Hell to roll with you!

Coach Mike

TEAM RIDE THIS SUNDAY SUNDAY SUUUNNNDAAAAAAYYYYY!

2011-05-31T16:32:00.002-04:00

Hey guys!

As promised here's the scoop on the Team Training Ride set for this Sunday, June 5th:

Where - Eldean's Marina in Macatawa. (http://tinyurl.com/eldeansride)

(Parking will be across the street as per usual)

When - The first ride (20 miles) is @ noon, the second (30 miles) is at 1:30, food oughta start about 4:30.

Who - You! Your fam (there's a pool and playset on site) & anyone you are still trying to recruit!

Why - Because it's time to ride!!!!!!!

JD says that he's grilling brats and chicken and cookin' corn on the cob. Feel free to bring whatever you want to add to the feast.

Please RSVP to myself or Coach Derek so we can give JD an idea of how much food to get!

I think that covers it - spread the word, pump the tires, slather on the sunscreen & join us this Sunday for a great day!

Rock on y'all - you know how!

Coach MC

mike@velo-citycycles.com

diddidit@gmail.com

Memorial Weekend Ride Options

2011-05-26T12:49:00.003-04:00

Hey Team!

Just in case you're lookin' for a chance to get'cher ride on a time or two.......here's a quick peek at some options:

Saturday - the usual ride from the shop (Velo City) @ 8am. There's also rumors that Kaat's looking for folks to ride w/ later that day....get ahold of her!

Sunday - Luton Park ATB ride @ 8:30.

Monday - 50-ish miler from the shop @ 9am.

Sure hope to see you!

Remember - next Team Rides are Sunday 6/5 @ Eldean's Marina in Holland & Sunday 6/12 hosted by Nathan, Stewart and Cindy in GR. Look for all the details soon!

Ride on you rockstars!

Coach MC

TEAM RIDE REPORT MAY 22. (Where were you guys?!)

2011-05-23T09:54:00.002-04:00

So - an absolutely perfect day awaited the members of the World's Coolest Team as they gathered in Muskegon for another chance to train, ride and hang together. And when I say "perfect" it's not 'cuz I'm indulging in my oft-maligned tendency to.....ummm.....overstate things!

It.
Was.
Perfect!

75-80 degrees, not a cloud, not too windy. Yep, perfect!

We had 8 for the 17 mile "pre-ride-ride" - 2 Dykstras (D & K), 2 Allegrina-Bowes, 2 Johns (Jasker & VandenBerg) and 2 Clarks (Lin & I). We rolled south outta the park and did a delightful loop that took us along the coast of Lake Mich, up-n-over Blockhouse Hill and back around to the park. Upon arrival we were greeted by Team Scheidel (all 3), Tom "Grillmeister" Miller, New Burlington Ride Mark S (w/ his stoker daughter Abbie) and a pleasant surprise in the form of Amy F2!
After greetings and intros this time we rolled north, enjoying a tailwind as we rolled past Duck Lake, White Lake and Other Lakes That Shall Remain Nameless on great roads w/ light traffic. Eventually we found ourselves back along the lovely shore of The Big Lake as our route took us back along the roads we'd ridden earlier in the other direction. After a stop to fix Heather's flat (best quote - "Hey John, if you have grease on your forehead after helping /w a flat you're doing it wrong!" courtesy of Coach Did) we gave Blockhouse Hill another whuppin' and found ourselves back @ the park w/ either 30 or 47 miles in our legs.

The post-ride picnic featured burgers n' dawgs from TM, Team-Issue Rainbow chips from HAB and various ither munchies and libations.

All in all - 'twas a great day! (One might even say "perfect"!)

NEXT TEAM RIDE IS SUNDAY 6/5 @ ELDEAN'S MARINA IN HOLLAND.
Times and details will be annouced soon but mark your calendars! Hosted by JD and Maggie Stone I'm told the menu will feature JD's famous brats and grilled chicken. Don't miss it!

NEXT TEAM RIDE AFTER THAT IS SET FOR 6/12 - WE COULD USE A HOST FOR THAT ONE - SOMEWHERE IN/NEAR G.R. PREFERABLY. Contact Coach Did or myself if you're interested.

LOOKING AHEAD..........
3rd Annual Allegrina 100 on 6/28.
100 Grand on 6/4
Holland 100 on 7/16 (Fund Raising Opportunity)
Ride Around Torch on 7/17

Lots more to come!

I sure hope you guys are getting some riding in (and fund raising too!) 'cuz the Rides are comin' up fast! Remember that there are still spots open for every Ride (we have a few reserved for DV) so keep recruiting!

9 weeks 'til VT!
11 weeks 'til Wi!
15 weeks 'til Tahoe!
20 weeks 'til DV (!!!!!)
25 weeks 'til AZ!

See you all soon I hope........keep rockin' like you do!

Coach Mike

Energy Drinks are on the way

2011-05-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

Please welcome back long time sponsor XS Energy Drinks. This year they are donating a pallet load of Energy Drink and a pallet of H2Ultra water. We are also getting 12 ounce cans of the new Naranja flavor and old favorite Citrus Blast. All this should all arrive in the middle of next week. The drinks come free to us and then we sell them and put the money toward our ride accounts.

Here's how the system works:
Let Tom or Mary Scheidel know how many cases of drinks you want.
Energy drinks are $15 for a case of 12 - 8 ounce cans, $20 for 12 - 12 ounce cans, and $30 for a pack of 24 - 8 ounce cans.
You can sell the drinks or enjoy them yourself. The cash goes to Mary at the JDRF office and is entered into your ride account.
Cases of 12 bottles of water are free. You can use these at golf outings, rides and other events. That saves you having to buy water or get another donation.

Several of our ride team members have made hundreds of dollars through this program in years past. In short, I will have a garage full of product next week and I want to move it out as soon as possible so I have a place to park our cars.

Ride on and drink up!

Reporting and Announcing!

2011-05-15T21:38:00.004-04:00

So, it wasn't THAT bad out today, despite the forecast, and despite the fact that for a mess of the day, it WAS that bad out. So, given the apparent sucktacular potential, the turnout for today's ride really was pretty decent. Of course, it was also pretty much who you'd expect:

Coach MC rode-to-the-ride

Linda C

Host Tom M, whose house I love because everything is set up for tall people

Tom's friend and neighbor, who rode with us last year, and who's name I'll probably remember sometime next month, but not right now, dangit

Heather AB

Chris R

And me.

We did a total of about 35 miles, split between a 10 mile starter loop and a 25 mile main loop; we didn't get rained on at all, but there was enough wetness on the road to make for some fine racing stripes!

Now, for our next attempt to have a team ride in conditions that are warm AND dry AND not too windy AND maybe even sunny, we'll try something new - a ride from North Muskegon. Our start point will be Mullaly Park (http://tinyurl.com/mullalypark for da map - we'll meet back by the playground equipment, where there are bathrooms and a picnic area), and we'll continue the double-loop format.

Loop 1 will be about 17 miles, with a 12:15 rollout time (i.e. be there at noon), and will include the much-loved Blockhouse Hill on newly-repaved Scenic Drive.

Loop Deux will be about 30 miles, with a 2 pm sharp rollout time. This time we'll hit the very nice Duck Lake State Park bridge, and I'll see if I can jigger things so you can choose to do Blockhouse Hill (this time from the other direction), or go around it.

Post-ride, we'll hang out, and hopefully we'll be able to grill up a bunch of the burgers and hot dogs that Tom has left from today - bring something to pass, if you want.

And, last things last, JUST in case you have some odd need to see MC, Kaat, Pea, and did suffering in the high desert, here ya go.

Team Fiona loves you guys, 'cuz all y'all rock!

Lots going on...

2011-05-11T19:37:00.001-04:00

Hi team. Lots going on and to update you on...

Team Ride on Sunday, May 15th at Tom Miller's house in Grand Haven. Ride distances 35ish miles leaves @ 1 & 25ish miles leaves at 2. Burgers, dogs & drinks after the ride will be provided. People are invited to bring a dish to pass. Tom promises he WILL be at this ride.

Nathan Kooi is looking for volunteers to pour drinks from 3:30pm -7:00pm on Friday May 20th at 9th Bridge Market JDRF fundraising event: Barbeque, Brews, and a Bike Ride. They are looking for volunteers for beverage pouring so that they can make as much money for JDRF as they possibly can. They need 2-3 people for this shift. Contact Nathan directly via e-mail or on his cell 231-206-2465.

Dawn Miller-Meister & Linda T. Poeder are throwing a golf outing on Saturday June 18th at Braeside Golf Course in Rockford. Call Dawn at 293.4443 to reserve your Foursome or Sponsor a hole.

Get your t-shirt design into Katie Clark ASAP. clarkkat @ gmail.com

That's about it. Hope you are getting miles on.

Katie

Team Ride Two Report and News and Stuff

2011-05-03T14:51:00.002-04:00

Hey, a team ride that featured pleasant weather! How About That?!?!?! OK, maybe it was a little bit windy, but compared to team rides Zero and One, this one was positively supercalafragalistic! Not surprisingly, we had pretty dang awesome turnout. The roster:

Cindy

Clarks:

Jack

Katie

Steve

Linda

Mike

Stewart

The Scheidel Trifecta – Ian, Mary, and Tom

LTP

Chris R

Kaat

We were thrilled to have returning riders:

Diana S (Whitefish Summer ’07)

Jeff W (Whitefish Fall ’07)

Heather A (Killington Deluge ’09)

And we were equally thrilled to have NEW riders, all showing up for their first team rides!

Maggie S

John V

Danielle S

Paul B

Cliff L

Kirsten D

Me, with SuperStoker and Ultra Super Awesome Guest Star Dane

And Patti Bills, O.O.B.F.! *

It’s worth noting that Kaat & Kirsten were both fresh(ish) from the Steelcase Duathlon and thus each having an epic “run bike run bike” day! Yowza!

Also cool: 3 tandems! Sweet!

Also also cool: no flat tires! I’m sure Cindy can recall a certain repeat of this route a few years ago that set a record for number of flats on one ride by one rider.

28 riders – that’s pretty awesome! We covered either 23 or 28 miles, and I think I pretty much saw folks riding well together and being good road citizens – good on’ya for that. Maaaybe a couple of map-reading oopsies, there, but, hey, with my UltraPower Stoker on the job, we had it covered pretty well.

Now, our next team ride will be on May 15, hosted ably by our own Tom Miller on the south side of Grand Haven. We’ll have more info on that soon, including whether or not Tom will have a moat that needs crossing. In the interim, ride together, ride safe, ride lots – in short, be JDRF rock stars!

*that’s “Order of the Original Bike Face”, perhaps the highest rank in JDRF lore and pageantry…

MAY 1 TEAM RIDE!!!!!!!

2011-04-25T10:24:00.003-04:00

Hey Team!
As detailed in the previous post Coach Did and I have added a Training Ride for this coming Sunday and here's the scoop:

When - 2pm Sunday 5/1
Where - Johnson Park in GR (http://tinyurl.com/johnsonparkride)
How much - 20 and 35 mile (ish) options
Who - You! Your teammates and anyone else you wanna invite!
Why - 'Cuz it's May! 'Cuz it's time to ride! 'Cuz VT is only 12 / Lacrosse is only 14 / Tahoe is only 18 / DV is only 23 / Tucson is only 28 weeks away!

So - I really really really hope to see you there! I'll bring a cooler fulla drinks and a buncha snacks.

Also - there's a really good chance that I'll be meeting BikeFace Originator & past teammate Patti Bills @ Luton in the AM to get some dirt miles in before the ride if you'd like to join us. I'll post details as I have 'em.

So - see you this weekend!
Keep rockin' you rockstars!

Coach MC

3 Degrees of separation

2011-04-20T11:29:00.000-04:00

I received an interesting note from a work friend today. He's an IT guy and works in our plant in Toronto. Apparently his sister is a recipient of the "Edmonton Protocol", an islet cell transplant. I'll let you read Scott and his other family member's note. Related, I remember listening to an early transplant patient who visited GR several years ago and will never forget her saying "I never knew how sick I was"... That's always stuck with me.

Scott's relation - "A short but sweet note to let you all know that Tracey stopped taking insulin on Monday evening. She is insulin free for the first time in 30+ years. She feels better each day and looks amazing. We are so very PROUD of her. She has gone through a lot to attain this goal and she's been very brave."

Scott - "Of particular interest to you…. this is a note from my mom about my sister.. she just went thru 2 islet transplants in Edmonton Alberta. She was quite a sick lady prior to this procedure. This has really turned around her life. She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes as a teenager; she’s now 46. I know that this also impacts your family.. FYI…there is amazing work happening in the research field; the evidence is here."

I have 3 degrees of separation from an islet cell transplant recipient! Ride on friends

- Mike

TEAM RIDE REPORT - AND MORE!!!!!!

2011-04-18T16:08:00.003-04:00

Hey Team!

Well -whichever one of you irritated good ol' Ma Nature may wanna 'fess up so she can back off a bit......jus' sayin'! Regardless of yet another less-than-ideal weather report a goodly chunk of The World's Coolest Team gathered to show the world (and each other) that We. Will. Not. Be. Deterred. Okay - so m-a-y-b-e we all sorta opted for the shorter route (at the most!) and m-a-y-b-e some of us did a few less than that.......so what? We were there. We rolled. We ate. We were together and that's what matters most!

"Roll" Call: (har!)

B-Day Girl Heather A-B (Back on the team after a 1 yr hiatus!)

John J

Jay Dee

Tyson S (new guy! - 1st Team ride!)

The HellKaat

Steve C

Becky M

Nicole N

The lovely and talented Linda C

Tom M

Coach Did

Coach Me

We enjoyed able moral and caloric support from:

Katie C

Kirsten D

Chris M

Team Scheidel x 3

and - a host of misc chilluns

Needless to say there was much eating and drinking and laughing and tales of bravado once we got back to casa da Clark! It was a typical West Mi Team All Around Good Time - we missed you if your day took you elsewhere and hope to see you soon!

Speaking of that - we've added a NEW TEAM RIDE to bridge the gap 'tween this'n and the one set for 5/15. Check it: Sunday 5/1 - 2:00pm - Johnson Park in GR. We'll have 20 & 35 mile options and I'll bring some snacky stuff. (You can too!)

The 5/15 Team Ride will be hosted by Tom Miller up in Grand Haven. The "main event" will be a 20-ish miler @ 2:00pm. There will also be the option of doing some extra miles prior to the 2:00 start - in addition to the option of riding up there w/ MC from Holland. (Details to follow.)

KEEP READING, THERE'S MORE! (as promised) Team Jersey Poll - We're still exploring the idea of a new Team Training Jersey. There's a poll here on the Blog (look to your right......see it?) and it'd be helpful to your friends on the Ride Committee if you'd take a sec and fill it out. Thanks!

Team T-shirt Design Contest - As per usual we'll be looking to chose the winning design for our team tee shirt. Limber up your pencils, CAD programs, crayons and imaginations and get your designs to Katie by May 15 if you wanna be included in the contest. (Gotta a fav screenprinter? Let her know that as well). clarkkat@gmail.com

GR Bike Summit on 5/6 - The Bike Summit is a big meeting to promote commuting and practical bike use and we'll be having a booth to promote the Ride and our Team there. Wanna help out? Let me know. mike@velo-citycycles.com (www.bikegrandrapids.org)

That's it for now my friends........remember to keep riding (or start, as the case may be), keep fund-raising and remember that you guys all ROCK! Thanks for all you do to make this Team the force that it is.......we are gonna make a difference! See you on May 1st if not before...........hopefully before!

Coach Mike (for Coach Did and the entire hard-workin' Ride Committee - Nicole, Cathy C, Tom M, Katie C and Cindy A)

Jake's Music Festival on Saturday

2011-04-14T08:07:00.000-04:00

It is upon us. The musical event of the year. Jake's Music Festival takes place this Saturday, April 16th at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. This 7th annual celebration of local music starts at 3:00 p.m. and runs until 11:00 p.m. Performers include A.B! and Coconut Brown, Igby Iris, Chance Jones, Poor 'Ol Jim, The Fainting Generals, Karisa Wilson, Ritsu and many more. Click here for the full lineup.
The festival is organizer by West Michigan Ride Team members Tom and Mary Scheidel along with Clay Grueber and Todd Herring. Because of the generosity of sponsors Frames Unlimited, The Gordon Group, and Magic Hat #9 this will be a free show. Donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will be cheerfully accepted. There is also a silent auction with items from the GR Symphony, Art Museum, Public Museum, Whitecaps, Grand River Grocery, and over a dozen more local businesses.
So please stop by on Saturday. See one or two bands or stay all day. It's promises to be a great day of great music.

4th Annual Family Fun Day

2011-04-12T23:00:00.003-04:00

Want to raise some ride funds this weekend? I am looking for a few volunteers to help with the Family Fun Day this weekend. The event runs from 9:30am-1:00pm and you can be there 2 hours or the whole time. I am able to contribute to your ride account similar to working a VanAndel event. Click here to see the flyer with more details on the event. Click here to send me an e-mail so I can plan on your help.

If you interested in the winning the prizes, poker hands start at $5.00. I have many coupons and gift certificates (think free Corner Bar, Dam Dogs, Chili's, Applebee's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Kayak Rental discounts, Running apparel discounts and more!) which will be handed out to all participants. Looking forward to seeing you there and at Jake's Music Festival!

TEAM RIDE TAKE 2! (err....1? 2? ummmm....)

2011-04-12T09:46:00.002-04:00

Whether you're counting the ride from Ada Park last week or not (and Heather, Kaat & Coach Did have EVERY RIGHT INDEED to count it!!!!) the fact remains that we have another TEAM RIDE comin' up this Sunday - and that is cause for excitement! The season is well-n-truly upon us, folks are back from Spring Break and trips hither-n-yon and the World's Coolest Team will indeed be pumping air into tires, blood into legs and air into lungs to once again tell that a-hole Type 1 that its days are numbered! So - I sure hope to see you @ the Clark's house this Sunday! (Steve-n-Katie's that is). Here are the details: We roll @ 2:00pm so get there by 1:30 to get ready puh-leeze 2 route options - 20-ish and 30-ish miles. Somewhat "roll-y" as I recall. Child care is available - plan on contributing 2 bux per kid per hour if you take advantage of same. (Whatta cool deal!) Katie sez that she will have "some food" - feel free to bring along something to share if yawanna. Annnnnd here's a map! http://tinyurl.com/katieandstevesplace Remember - the more the merrier! If you have riding buds that are still on the fence about joining the team bring 'em along! Okay - that oughta do it. Speaking for Coach Did & the entire Ride Committee we sure hope to see you this Sunday! And I know I say this all the time (like everything else I say) but that;s just 'cuz it's so true - YOU GUYS ROCK! See ya Sunday! Coach MC

Team Ride Zero Report Haiku

2011-04-03T16:10:00.002-04:00

Heather, Kaat, did, hail
Lightning, thunder, thirteen miles
Can't feel toes anymore

*ADDENDUM*

By the powers vested in me by my cat and the weird guy who lives in the apartments by our house, I hereby declare that yesterday's team ride was actually the ZEROETH team ride of the season. Boom.

2011! Team! Ride! Number! One!

2011-03-27T20:09:00.006-04:00

Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road! Literally!

Our first team training ride will be this coming Sunday, April 3. Here's the particulars:

Rollout time: 2 p.m. - aim to be there and ready to ride by 1:45 or so.

Start Location: Ada Township Park, in the lot by the tennis courts off Buttrick Ave.

For the riding, I'm figuring that we'll just go out on Grand River Drive towards Saranac. It'll be an out-and-back course, so you'll be able to do basically any distance up to maybe 28 miles. I'll note some places to turn around to get specific distances. It's pretty much flat. The weather forecast, right now at least, looks to be pretty darn decent, partly sunny with temperatures in the upper 40s.

Post-ride snacky bits? You Betcha! Feel free to bring some of your own, if you want.

THE DEATH VALLEY DEADLINE IS UPON US!

2011-03-15T12:30:00.002-04:00

Hey kids!

According to my many inside sources (okay - Mary sent me an e-mail) the Death Vally Ride is so close to full that it'll fill up today or tomorrow so if you're on the fence - or if you have friends, fam or riding buds that are - it's time to get registered!

Remember - you can always switch Ride Sites later (or ...shhhh!... back out as long as you do so before the deadline)

The MAIN message here is that you wanna sign up for Death Valley NOW if you wanna join the World's Coolest Team as it once again delivers a karate chop to the throat of Type 1!

I sure hope you do!

Ride on, MC

By the Numbers

2011-03-11T07:50:00.003-05:00

I was going to try and write a cool post this morning about the unbelievable first week of registration this team has had. Then I realized that someone already did the work for me (including the call out to anyone that might want to join us this year!). Click on the photo if this one is too small...

I'm simply amazed by these numbers. This isn't going to be just any other year for this team. With a group like this, with the dedication we all have...this is going to be a landmark year.

REGISTRATION OPENS MONDAY!

2011-03-04T12:05:00.002-05:00

THIS MONDAY, MARCH 7 (NOON EST) is when registration opens for the 2011 JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes.

Please note, many of our teammates are planning to travel to Death Valley this year. If you’re included in this group, it’s important to know that THIS RIDE WILL FILL UP. Fast. If you are even sort of considering Death Valley, we highly suggest you register for it ASAP on Monday. You can change your ride site later if you change your mind.

So, how do you sign up?
On Monday, visit http://ride.jdrf.org and choose "Register." Fill out the form. There will be an option to select your chapter via zip code. Just be sure you end up with the Michigan Great Lakes West Chapter (and let us know if it tries to put you somewhere else!).

You will be required to pay a $100 non-refundable fee (think of it as your first donation, from yourself!) via credit card (new this year also, PayPal and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)) to secure your spot.

Locations to choose from (read Coach MC’s review of each site here):

Burlington, VT July 28-31

La Crosse, WI August 11-14

Lake Tahoe, NV September 9-12

Death Valley, CA October 13-16

Tucson, AZ November 17-20

Fundraising options for all Ride locations:

$4,000 (Gold) - You don't worry about anything other than showing up at the airport at appointed time. Airfare, bike transportation, ground transportation, hotel, and meals (Thurs pm – Sun am; excluding lunch on Fri) are covered. All Ride day logistics and support are covered too. No worries.

$3,000 (Silver) – You are responsible for getting yourself and your bike to the Ride location. Hotel and meals are covered (Thurs pm – Sun am; excluding lunch on Fri). All Ride day logistics and support are covered too.

$2,000 (Bronze) – You are responsible for all travel and accommodations expenses for the Ride. Your meals are, however, covered (Thurs pm – Sun am; excluding lunch on Fri). All Ride day logistics and support are covered too.

If you aren't sure which option will work best for you, make your best guess and sign up Monday anyway—our Chapter staff can change your fundraising package if necessary up until a date that’s TBD (we’ll let you know when that’s coming). It’s just important to secure your spot on Monday.

If you have concerns or questions, leave a comment and we'll be sure to get you answers.

See you on the road...SOON!

Looking Back / Looking Ahead!

2011-02-22T02:00:00.002-05:00

My vantage point for all that looking is Rm 240 of the Ayres Hotel here in Mission Viejo CA. I'm out here @ a Cervelo Dealer deal.......after having one of those travel-days-from-hell that have been goin' around.

Anyway - the "looking back" part is my way of heapin' some praise on our team mates for steppin' up and riding their respective tails off @ the Ultimate Cycle Challenge last weekend. Our Team was a goodly-sized chunk of the effortthat raised nearly 60K for the L.A.F. and I think that's pretty dang cool. Thanks to everyone that rode (and if I miss ya please know thta I've had less than 10 hours of sleep since Fri morning) and that would be :

Linda C
JD Stone
Maggie Stone
Kaat
Brad S
Tom M
Sarah Andro
Linda TeaPea
Katie C
Becky M
Coach Did
Kirsten D
Walt F
Tom's buddy Joe

If you were there 'tween 10-3 I missed ya 'cuz I was @ the 'cross race.

Extra Special "Hard Arse" points to Krazy Kaat, LPT, Sarah & Coach Did for joining me in the Century Club and it must be pointed out that Kaat also managed a podium spot @ the race that afternoon!

Big fun all around, thanks for comin' along for the ride and let's do it again!

Now- time to look ahead! This comin' Sunday is the Big Deal Team Kick Off Party on Sunday! The time is 4-7 and the place is New Holland Brewery. We'll have some chow (the Chapter's buying some appetizers and soft drinks!), cover any questions about 2011 and just get fired up in general!

Remember - this is a great affair to for prospective new riders so invite 'em!

I suspect you'll see a more official reminder/invite shortly, I just wanted to talk about it now 'cuz I can't wait!

Remember - Ride Registration opens on 3/7!

See you guys soon - hopefully this weekend.

You guys rock like no Teamhas ever rocked before, you know that, right?

RIGHT!

Ride on,
Coach MC

Death by GPS

2011-02-20T17:27:00.000-05:00

There was an article in the Travel section of today's Grand Rapids Press talking about Death Valley. Specifically it was discussing how the lack of cell phone coverage and spotty GPS has caused deaths there recently. In August of 2009 one woman was stranded for 5 days, had run out of water and her six year old son had died. According to the ranger who rescued her "She turned down a wrong road. She said she had been following her GPS unit." The article went on to say that people overly depend on their technology and it gives them a false sense of security. It's not just technology to blame for some of the recent tragedies, poor planning and faulty judgement also come into play. Also, a lot of people want to visit in the middle of the summer when the temperatures are over 120 degrees. The article concluded by saying that in the past 15 years over a dozen people have died of heat related illnesses.

The reason I mention this is to say that it's never to early to start hydrating. Hope to see everyone for some hydrating at New Holland during our team kick-off party next Sunday.

ULTIMATE CYCLE CHALLENGE, TAKE 2!

2011-01-24T14:31:00.002-05:00

Well, as I type this we are egg-zac-lee 24 days & 5.5 hours from the start of the 2011 Ultimate Cycle Challenge! As all y'all are hopefully aware - I am referring to the 24 hour Lance Armstrong Foundation Indoor Team Relay Ride. As you are all also hopefully aware - we will once again be fielding a team - w/ the intention of spreading the word about our favorite cause, give another worthy cause a boost, get together and break a sweat! The event runs from 8pm on Feb 18 til.......you guessed it.....8pm Feb 19.

So - here's how YOU can get involved:

Go to www.ultimatecyclingchallenge.com and register. It's gonna set ya back 35 bux, but (besides the aforementioned good cause) you're gonna get a t-shirt, eats and lotsa entertainment.

Then go to "Teams" - find "JDRF West Mi" in the menu and click it!

Then take a peek @ the current schedule of what time slots are open, pick an hour (or more) and shoot me an email (mike@velo-citycycles.com) or a call (616-355-2000 here @ work) and I'll get'cha all set up.

Seriously - this event is a hoot! Where else can you ride your "nowhere bike", maybe see Katie Clark on a bike in February, see a buncha live bands, plenty of chessy '90's music videos, watch Coach Derek try and spell "Moab" on the mat beneath his bike w/ his sweat drops & hang wit'cher homies on the World's Coolest Team?!?!?!??!!?!?

Sure hope to see you there!

This schedule is current as of 1/24/11 @ 2:43pm

8pm - Linda C
9pm - Joe Kovaks
10pm - Coach Giddy Diddy
11pm - Ditto
Midnight -
1am -
2am -
3am -
4am -
5am -
6am -
7am -
8am - Tom Miller
9am - Maggie Stone
10am - Ditto
11am - Brad Spooner
noon - Ditto
1pm - Katie Clark
2pm - Steve Clark
3pm - Becky Machuta
4pm - Kirsten Dykstra
5pm - Ditto

- As you can see, there are plenty of spots open. As you can also see - that "Ditto" dude is riding a bunch!

So - get registered - let me know when you wanna ride and ride we shall!

Keep rockin' you rock stars!
Coach Mike

Let's have an outing

2011-01-16T15:46:00.000-05:00

Who wants to check out the Roller Derby? Mary's designer at Connie's Cakes is one of the skaters. We are planning on going to the bout on January 22. Let's make it a fun winter time team event. Info is below.

Time	Saturday, January 22 · 5:00pm - 10:00pm

Location	Rivertown Sports 2605 Sanford AVE SE Grandville, MI

Created By	Gr Derby

More Info	Kick off your New Year’s resolution to watch more roller derby with GRRG on Saturday, January 22. The Grand Raggidy Roller Girls welcome the Paper Valley Roller Girls hailing from Appleton, Wisconsin for the first of many action-packed doubleheaders of the 2011 season! Paper Valley Roller Girls, established in 2008, recently achieved full membership status in WFTDA. While PVRG skated against the G-Rap Attack! once before, they have yet to face the Grand Raggidy All Stars on the track! With two invigorated teams and a desire to win, Grand Raggidy Roller Girls are ready to get out there and tear it up on the track! See some of your favorite G-Rap Attack! and All Star skaters along with some promising new faces. You won’t want to miss this! Doors open at 5:00pm. Action starts at 6:00pm! Tickets for sale at BrownPaperTickets.com http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/140361

Thoughts on 2011 venues.....

2011-01-04T09:18:00.003-05:00

So - every time I see any of you guys - @ Van Andel, on New Year's Eve, in the saddle, etc....the same question comes up: "Where we gonna ride this year?"

A big question - that. (For some of us)

So - in the interest of helping you decide (maybe) and since I'm the only person we know that attended and rode in all 5 Rides last year I thought I'd give you the scoop-as-I-know-it on the 2011 Ride Venues, a few pros and cons and see if that clears anything up for anyone.

(I apologize in advance - this is gonna take more than a few words!)

Burlington VT 7/28-31: I really enjoyed this Ride. It was exactly the "Killington antidote" that the Program needed. Cool little college town w/ a vibrant, arty downtown. The hotel was fine - and they seemed excited to have us. A bit isolated and to far from town to walk. The route was good.....the road surfaces were fine, it ran along the coast of Lake Champlain, through a buncha farmland, etc. There was a short stretch of busy almost-highway and a slightly contrived feeling little loop to make a century but overall it was nice. The hills got a little "Vermont-y" towards the 3rd breakpoint but they were mostly of the short-and-steep variety. There were a couple grinders on the return leg but nothing like Asheville or Jubilee Pass. There was a sweet covered bridge, some good views of the water, etc. In general I'd rate the course as "good" - mostly low traffic, good roads, moderately hilly. The weather was perfect. (One caveat - due to my role as sweeper I never got out to the end of the course, but I didn't hear any horror stories of the route past BP #3.)

LaCrosse Wi 8/11-14: My least favorite course of the season. And least favorite venue overall. Nonetheless - we had a great Ride and the 180-some riders there had a blast! LaCrosse is a little blue-collar town on the Mississippi River. (that's the only time I'm gonna spell that out). We were scattered over 4 hotels downtown 'cuz the Ride HQ hotel wasn't big enough. The hotel is across a park form the river - that was cool - and we had the start and finish-line-party in that park. The hotel was fine, at least mine was. (I heard some grumbling from some crewfolk about the "roach motel" they were stayin' at). The food was fine. The route was okay - you rode through downtown, across a big bridge into Minn and bade farewell to Wis for the rest of the ride. Yep - the "Wis Ride" is 95% in Minn and Iowa! 2nd flattest route we have (after Tucson) and mostly decent 2 lane through rural country. Kinda cool anytime you are within sight of the Miss River, pretty anonymous otherwise. It goes through a few little towns and the only climbing a'tall is on the little loop @ the end of the course before you turn back. If you are not going for 100 miles it's gonna be the flattest JDRF Ride ever. The party back @ the finish right there on the river was cool. LaCrosse feels like it could be any of 100 midwest towns - lotsa bars, a little grimy but honest, y'know. No "shopping" or art scene to speak of in other words but plenty of places to eat and buy a cheesehead. Town is within easy walking distance from the hotels. Weather-wise it rained hard on Friday but the rest of the time it was nice - a little muggy.
My main impression upon leaving LaCrosse was that if we could have a successful Ride there we could have one pretty much anywhere. Not a dis on the town per se........just what I was thinkin' as we pulled out.

Lake Tahoe 9/9-12: The first "piggy back Ride" of 2011. It's gonna be hard for me to seperate my impressions of the area and route from the fact that I hated the lousy casino we stayed in with a passion but I'll try. (Sorry about that - but we were there for a full week, y'know?). There is no way we'll use it again anyway (I hope!) so it's a moot point, right? Tahoe is a gorgous area - the town (on the CA side) is way cool in a trendy-ski-resort- kinda way w/ lotsa shops and pubs and such. (Don't get me started on the low-rent Reno-wannabe crap on the Nevada side o' the line! It makes Pahrump look cosmopolitan!) The lake itself is stunning. As a piggy-back ride there are some realities that you might not be used to - start logistics are awkward w/out the big emotional lift of our usual National-Anthem-ride-under-the-arch-and-into-battle vibe and you are sharing all this w/ 2000+ non JDRFers. The route options are different as well - there are only 2: the full 72 mile loop or the 36 mile option (which involves taking a ferry across the lake to the halfway point on the loop. You start off in town - there's 5-6 miles of busy 4 lane before you turn north and head into the forest roads. After that the road gets quite narrow as it starts up the first big climb. (There are basically 2) There's plenty of traffic all day - I was surprised @ how much - 'cuz it's a very popular drive. (Shucks - Berger, Did & I did it before we left). The first climb is significant - 2-3 switchbacks up to an exposed road w/ bluffs falling away to either side. Steep. Out of the saddle once in awhile steep. Use your granny gear if you have one steep. Not too long, but have I mentioned sort of steep? After that there's a great descent and then you are along the shoreline winding through lotsa funky-cool little CA towns. You are almost always within sight of the lake. After the 1/2 point and a cool breakpoint @ an awesome park on the water you start back along the east side of the lake. Significant Climb #2 is lurking here. It's more of a grinder.......not Jubilee, not Starr Meadow but long enough that you'll get plenty tired of it! After that you basically are descending back into town, but you're on a busy highway-esque road w/ a good shoulder. Overall I'd say this is the 2nd hardest Ride physically - after DV - but the fact is that a strong rider will be done before noon, which might be sort of anticlimatic. (Or great!)
Ride support was good - not up to normal JDRF-only standards but I've never seen a ride that was. Sufficient amount of stops - good enough food, etc.
Gotta say that the organizers of the Tour de Tahoe bent over backwards to make us feel welcome! Custom water bottles, JDRF logo on the rider numbers, special JDRF-specific colored numbers for our riders, etc. Awesome!
Weather was great - although it was 43 degress as we rolled out @ 7am!!!!

Death Valley 10/13-16: The grandaddy of JDRF Rides, our Team fav and my favorite so bear that in mind if I get carried away here, okay? It's hard to explain if you've not been there but the isolation, the exotic/ borderline ominous terrain and....yes.....the weather combine to make this the Ride of Rides. Lodging is fine in a college dorm sorta way. The ranch is isolated but there's a great pool, a golf course, a saloon, 2 restaurants and a gift shop on the premises and lots to do if you have (or rent) a car or jeep. The food's okay - all dinners are outside which is awesome.
The route is easy to follow - there are literally 5 turns in 105 miles! Road surface is good to okay, traffic is usually low but what there is tends to be Euro-tourists in rental cars who seem to think that they're home on the autobahn so single-file is the order of the day! It's slightly downhill overall on the outbound leg until you get past BP #2, then there's some steady ups as you approach BP#3. Waiting for you after #3 is the infamous Jubilee Pass - an honest-to-Gawd 7 mile climb. Not steep - but pretty unrelenting when you add in the heat and the sun. This climb has caused many a rider to re-assess his/her goals for the day!
Okay - the weather. It's hot. Real hot. Frickin' too hot! No matter what "they" say, no matter what the stats are - we've been there 6 times now and it's been 100+ every damn time! Sometimes way more than that! Sure - it's a "dry heat" but 100+ is 100+ and combined w/ the glaring sunshine and likelihood of headwinds on the return leg....well.....it's a tough ride! I've attended 20-some JDRF rides and there will be more riders in the med tent @ 1 Death Valley Ride than all the other non DV rides put together.

Let's face it folks- they don't call the place Death Valley for nuthin'!

Now - having said that - over the years we've sent nearly 200 riders to DV and I'd estimate that well over half of them rode the whole thing, another goodly chunk made their goal (whatever it was) and we've had less than a dozen visits to the med tent. (or worse). Jus' sayin'.

Tucson 11/17-20: "Piggy back Ride" #2! El Tour de Tucson is a huge ride - 9000+ riders! It's a race as well - you wear a timing chip, there are wave starts, lotsa pro and pro wannabes, teams etc.
The lodging is far and away the best JDRF venue ever. We use a JW Marriot 5 star place high in the hills above Tucson, about 25 minutes from town. Now - you guys know that Mrs Clark's favorite son is a spread-the-bedroll-whereever kinda hombre but This. Place. Is. Awesome! Lux but not fancy - great food (best of the year) dinners on the patio under the full moon and desert stars...dang!
I repeat - dang!
Of course - being a 25 minute drive away from anything complicates the logistical picture a bit but Tucson's nothing special as a city anyway.
The ride is an institution - you hafta take the bus down to the Expo Center on Friday to get your packet, check in, walk the mini bike show, etc. The support they get from the city and the residents is amazing too. Folks stand @ the end of their driveways w/ a hose all day!
The route is okay - lotsa winding through neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. Decent roads for the most part and not a ton of traffic once you get outta town. There are 2 "hike-a-bike" sections - with seems kinda weird but are a tradition I guess. The 1st one is only about 12 miles in so there's still a huge crowd. It's a short hike across an arroyo (dry riverbed) and @ the end there was a mariachi band 11 members strong right there in the desert playin' and singin' their respective butts off! It was awesome! The 2nd one is @ maybe 40 miles and is at least 1/2 mile long and sandy. (You Speedplay folks will want cleat covers!) That one leads to the 1 big climb - which isn't much. Short and semi-steep. The route gets boring towards the end as it's on the frontage road alongside the highway back into town. Overall I'd say this is the 2nd easiest route (after LaCrosse) as olng as you are okay w/ late November desert weather. (It was perfect - cool @ night, clear as a bell, 50 in the am and 85-90 in the afternoon. It got kinda windy for a bit. It also gets dark early and they pull you offa the course @ 5:30 if you don't have lights!
The size of the ride, the multiple starting points and times and the fact that we stay so far from the start/finish changes the vibe. No place to really hang around @ the end to cheer folks, no big start, etc. Ut then again - the fact that there are 9000+ riders, the huge bike expo, the big party downtown @ the finish etc is kinda cool and we do have a pretty intimate vibe back up at @ hotel.

So - I hope this helps if you are undecided about which Ride(s) to do this season. Word is that registration won't be open 'til at least 3/1 so you have some time to think about it but I wanted to get the conversation started, y'know?

Feel free to contact me if you stil have questions - start recruiting (if you haven't) start fund raising (ditto!) and I hope to see you soon @ Van Andel, the Ultimate Cycle Challenge or on a ride!

Keep on rockin' you rock stars!

Yours,
Coach MC

THE ULTIMATE CYCLE CHALLENGE APPROACHETH!

2011-01-04T09:01:00.003-05:00

As is the case every year - we plan to have a team representing JDRF @ the U.C.C. next month. For those of you that haven't been before - here's the scoop:

This is a fund raiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. It's a 24 hour team indoor relay ride. It's Friday & Saturday Feb 18/19 this year, at Ridgepoint Church on the east side o' Holland. We'll have a trainer set up, you show up w/ your bike and ride as much or as little as ya want.

Our main goal in participating - aside from breakin' a sweat, hangin' out, the rare joy of seein' Katie Clark on a bike in the winter, curiosity as to how many hours Kaat'll ride, etc - is to represent our Team (aka The World's Coolest Team) @ an event w/ a lotta riders and m-a-y-b-e have a chance to talk up the Ride Program, y'know?

The "fee" to ride is $35 bucks. They encourage you to raise more but it's optional and we sorta have another goal when it comes to that, right? To join in the fun go to www.ultimatecyclechallenge.com and then to "registration". Select "JDRF West Michigan" from the team list and go to it. You get a t-shirt too!

Then - contact me here @ the shop and we'll get you set up w/ a time slot. It runs from 8pm - 8pm and most folks ride an hour @ a time. You can ride as much or as little as you wanna.

It's kinda fun - it's a Good Cause, you can hang wit'cher teammies, get a workout, enjoy the near-around-the-clock entertainment and live music (including my band) and do your part to kick cancer in the junk.

How could that be a bad thing, huh?

So - check your schedule, register, lemme know that you did and we'l go for a ride and have us a time, eh?

You guys freakin' ROCK, have I mentioned that lately?

Coach MC

Flight!

2010-11-28T20:38:00.004-05:00

Presented without further comment, as anything I could add would dilute the awesome. Ladies and gentlemen, Air Clark.

BikeFace Redux - UPDATED

2010-11-17T20:38:00.003-05:00

Due to popular request, well actually just one request, but the person who asked is popular...
Anyway, I've uploaded the BikeFace slideshow from Saturday's party to Google Docs. Click here to see it. Unfortunately the conversion process degraded the quality of the photos. But you can still see who everyone is.

The video of this year's Death Valley ride has been uploaded to YouTube. Click here to see that.

Passé un bon week-end

2010-11-08T20:10:00.013-05:00

See, Madame Leland, I did retain some French!

So, big weekend coming up here, for reals - this Saturday night we celebrate... us. No, it's not some self congratulatory mass of people all full of themselves - this is the real deal. I think I might describe it as a Ride weekend distilled down to it's most spine-tingling moments.

And we have the added bonus of this very much NOT being the season wrap party, where we leave with a head full of ideas and dreams for next year and head back to our dens to hibernate. This time, we have first-year rider Walt and returning Alpha rider Stacey going out to the Tour of Tucson. Also going to Tucson are Jeremy to be the lead architect of the Bike Room, Tom M. to get the whole Bike Room experience, and of course Our Man MC, who will be wearing his National Head Coach hat this time around.

I'll freely admit that I'm jealous. I love these events; being part of two of them this year was a real treat. Tom's gonna get to see a different perspective a Ride, and I think he'll find it to be a lot of work for a lot of people who will be honestly thanking him. It'll be just as cool, but from a different place on the cool continuum.

Tom, my friend, prepare yourself for a diet consisting of all the major Mexican food groups: tacos, burritos, fajitas, and salsa bars. This is what powers the Bike Room.

So, back to the celebration at hand! We can arrive at the Rosewood Pointe Retreat House (I'm the Map!) at 6 pm. Parking is kinda snug, so carpool if you can. It doesn't look like we'll have a pile of snow to deal with, which simplifies things a lot. The eating will begin immediately, with the presentation starting at about 7 and running for about an hour. We can then return to the eating and the little groups gathered around telling stories.

We're not charging you specifically, but rather we're gonna pass the helmet around for contributions to cover the expense of renting the place. Bring a dish to pass and BYOB as well. You are more than welcome to stay the night, as well; the place sleeps about 25 easily. Please let us know ahead of time if you want to do that, though - please check your email and follow the link to the RSVP form, or ask one of us.

Sunday, the fun continues! If you're staying at the party, or just feel like dropping back in, we'll have breakfast and finish off the cleaning, and then... well, we'd love to have you come over to Manhattan Park in Grand Rapids to watch the KissCross cyclocross race. If you've not experienced a 'cross race, you need to - there's no more spectator-friendly form of bicycle racing, with short (roughly 1 mile) laps done on a twisty course with climbs, barriers, mud, sand, and, um, "features" designed to test, or possibly humiliate, the racers. I know of at least 4 of us planning to race - MC, Kaat, Tom M. and (gulp) me - and you're welcome to join the fun as well. The "C" race, the slowest and shortest of the starts, is at 11 AM; entry is $20. Try it, you'll love it!

And if you don't want to ride, please, come support/heckle us - bring your cowbells!

DEATH VALLEY BIKE DROP OFF F.A.Q.

2010-10-29T13:00:00.002-04:00

Hey Kids! I've gotten a few questions about how to get'cher bikes so here's more info if'n you need it:

WHAT'S THE BASIC SCOOP? : I'm hookin up w/ Paul and his well-traveled rig today (Friday the 29th) @ 3pm. We're using JD Stone's office building 'cuz it's easier to access w/ a big rig that the shop on a Friday afternoon.

SO DO I NEED TO PICK MY BIKE UP THERE OR WHAT?: Nope. I plan to hang out there 'til 5:oo or so, then I'll start runnin' bikes (and bags) to Velo City. Obviously if you can get there this afternoon it'll make things easier on me (and I am old and do tire easily!) but if that won't work you can get your bike from the shop anytime we're open.

AND THAT IS.....?: 11-8 M, W, Th, F & 10-5 T & S

I CAN LEAVE MY BIKE THERE IF I NEED TO, RIGHT?: Weeellllllll - if you've been here you know that it's not the biggest shop in the 616 area code so we'd appreciate it if you could get your stuff asap. We're prepared to store stuff for a week or so, after that..........it could get ugly! :)
By the way - not to bust all business on ya but if we did work to your bike pre DV we'd appreciate if you could settle up.

DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?: Need? - not really. Coach Did and Tom M are gonna be around. On the other hand if you miss us..........we'll be there!

SO WHERE IS THIS PLACE AGAIN?: Well, if you mean JD's there was a link to a map on the e-mail we sent out. The address is 10967 Paw Paw Dr in Holland for you GPS types. Best way I can describe it is that Paw Paw runs parallel to Chicago Dr east of Holland and his office is kind of behind all those car lots and RV places on the south side of the road just east of 112th. (west on Chicago Dr towards Holland, south on 112th and then east on Paw Paw will get'cha there.)

ANY THING ELSE I OUGHTA KNOW?: I think that does it. Call me @ 616-610-0334 if you have questions or are just feelin' kinda lonely.

Thanks y'all! Have I mentioned how proud I am to be lucky enough to be your team mate? 'Cuz I for damnsure am!!!!!!!!

Coach MC

More on Death Valley

2010-10-26T11:28:00.002-04:00

Death Valley was great this year, if a bit on the warm side. I've shared my thoughts in a three part post over on my blog, More Than 100 Miles. Rather than repost it all here (it's long with lots of photos) I'll just post the links.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Here's also a quick clip of the coaches crossing the finish line.

Death Valley Report!

2010-10-24T19:06:00.002-04:00

So - I gotta go first huh? Well, I guess that makes some kinda sense. I've been out there as much as anyone on our Team, I talk a lot, write only slightly less.....hell, maybe it's my duty as a coach to "prime the pump" as it were.

So - it's been a week (8 days actually) since we once again set out from Furnace Creek Ranch for points south.

All bound for Badwater & Mormon Point. Some for Ashford Mill. Some for the top of Jubilee Pass.

Remember how it felt to be there on the start line? The sun comin' up as fast as the goosebumps on our arms? The pictures and fistbumps and high fives and smiles and tears? Then we roll......out of the ranch, takin' that right turn ("Thanks Officer!") and up that right-away hill. Right again @ the intersection and then we're on the way for real. Coasting, passing, ("on your right!") pedaling.

I'm not gonna try to recount everyone's story here. Hell - I'm kinda hoping you all will do that! I saw nearly everyone during the ride - rode w/ Lin and Peggy early on, saw Tom and Did and a whole bunch of glitter-tree-bedecked folk @ Mormon Point. Rode outta there chasing Sarah and Nathan, who were chasing Rob. Saw a ton of us @ Ashford Mill - some turning around, some going on, saw Brad and Rick and Kaat comin' down offa the pass before Nathan and I started the climb. I rode up w/ Nathan, saw Cindy for a while and saw everyone on the way down. Chatted w/ John J and Stewart as they stopped during their descents. Saw LTP, Scott, Brenda, Herb and many more @ the top.

Well....anyway......my point is that Team West Michigan was ALL OVER that route all day! Shoot - we were over 12% of the entire rider total so you'd expect that!

We all know that it was hot. What you DV 1st timers might not realize is that those of us out late inthe day caught a break. That thin cloud cover blunted the sun's edge and dropped the temp at least 10 degrees. And for the first toime in years - the wind died down. Still - a tough day and not everyone had the day they had planned.

But - we survived. We thrived. We hung tough, rode smart, made wise choices, took care of one another and showed everyone just how we roll.

Not to mention that we again gave that jackass Type 1 a kick in the crotch!

I'm so proud of you guys! Your strength and grace and passion and humor and blood and sweat and tears. The way you hung out @ the finish to greet every rider as they came across the line. I was talkin' to Trish later that night and she once again mentioned that as the epitome of what makes our Team special and expressed again her fervent wish that other teams would follow our lead.

It's hard not to get lost in the pics and the FB posts, huh? Is for me anyway. I'm looking forward to reading some of your thoughts here too though.......some things oughta be for the record, y'know?

So - one more Ride and the 2010 Ride Season is in the books. Walt and Stacey will be flyin' the West Mi flag high and proud, Berger will be runnin' the Bike Room and yours truly will be dustin' off his Head Coach cap again. 'Tween now and then we have the Big Team Party on 11/13 and plenty o' Van Andel gigs comin' up!

What say we just get 2011 started huh?

Thanks for reading this. Thanks for being who you are, doing what you do and rocking like you all do!

Coach Mike

The Death Valley Primer

2010-10-06T08:52:00.004-04:00

1. It will be hot. Very hot. Inside your oven kind of hot. But it is also dry. Very dry. 4% humidity kind of dry. Dry heat is wonderful in the sauna, not so great on the bicycle. This leads to point number 2:

2. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Have some type of fluid (water, Gatorade, water, juice, water, watermelon, water, etc.) nearby at all times. Because of the lack of humidity your sweat evaporates instantly. So you are losing water all the time, but you don’t feel it. Always have a water bottle with you, even next to your bedside table while you sleep. Drink a lot and drink often. In fact, start now.

3. There ain’t no cell phone coverage in the desert. There are a few spots you may get reception (and rumor has it that there’s now an AT&T tower actually IN Death Valley). Katie Clark sent a TwitPic from Badwater one year. But don’t plan on being able to contact anyone via cell, even with one of them fancy new Droids. There is wi-fi, but …

4. Friday afternoon is free time, enjoy it. Go on a hike. Rent a jeep. Sit by the pool. Play golf. Just make sure to wear sunscreen and drink plenty of fluids.

5. Hydrate. That means drink things, like water, ice tea, lemonade, Propel, and XS.

6. The ride will start before sunrise and, if the wind is calm-ish, end shortly before sunset. Plan on spending 9 to 11 hours out in the sun. As weird as it sounds, put on sunscreen before you come to the starting line. Yes, that means you’ll be slathering up in the dark when you can still see the moon. Once the sun pops up over the Funeral Mountains you will be in hot sunshine until the ride is over.

7. Speaking of sunscreen, bring a BIG tube and a small tube you can use on your bike. Use it often. Coach DID suggests you also use some moisturizer. Actual quote, “Your skin will thank you for it.” Bring some good SPF15+ lip balm stuff too.

8. “Drinking!” You will hear this call frequently on the ride. It means one of your team mates is drinking. Whenever you hear call of “Drinking!” you should respond in kind and take a drink. You’ll want to finish a solid 24 ounces of fluid every hour, at least – you should have to pee at every break point.

9. Breakfast starts at 5:00 a.m. Our first year in DV Mike Clark suggested eating early so that your body will have enough time to “properly digest” breakfast, if you know what I mean. It’s 17 miles from the start to the first break point without a tree to be seen.

10. Death Valley is a starkly beautiful landscape. At times it feels like you are on another planet. The air is so dry that you can see for over 20 or 30 miles down the valley. At times this can become a mental challenge. When you’ve ridden for half an hour and the scenery looks exactly the same you begin to wonder if you’re in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

11. The hotel accommodations resemble a college dorm more than a Holiday Inn. This is a good thing. The very dorm-y post ride, post dinner hall party is something of a tradition.

12. Things to bring – Sunglasses, wide brimmed hat, swimsuit, light jacket or sweatshirt for the cool mornings/evenings, camera (have you seen the photos? The sky really is that blue out there).

13. What to Wear – T-shirts, tank tops and shorts will get you through most of the trip. For the Friday tune-up ride wear your “Pink Peloton” jersey. For dinner Friday night wear your team t-shirt. For the main ride Saturday wear your 2010 JDRF jersey. It might be a good idea to pack these in your carry-on.

14. The shuttle bus from the airport will stop in Pahrump for “supplies”. These “supplies” are usually found in the liquor aisle. Sadly, these supplies are not a particularly good way to hydrate, but you don’t want to be buying them at the convenience store at the Furnace Creek Ranch – they’ll cost twice as much there. You can get stuff for the Las Vegas After Party then, too.

15. Other “supplies” you might want to grab in Pahrump: food for Friday lunch (that’s the only meal for which you’re on your own – there’s a restaurant at the Ranch, but it’ll be packed and expensive), non-water drinks other than the aforementioned booze, snacky foods, etc.

16. In case we haven’t mentioned it, it is very important to stay hydrated.

17. Maybe bring a flashlight. The Ranch is well-lit in public areas, not so much elsewhere.

18. If you’re a stargazing type, maybe bring binoculars. You’ll see why the first night we’re there. In fact, we’re hoping to get a mess of people up to Zabriskie Point Thursday night for just that purpose.

19. Ride day advice! Here’s the thing: assuming you’re doing the whole 105 miles, the halfway point in mileage terms isn’t necessarily the halfway point in terms of time. You might only be a third done, in fact – here’s some thoughts:

a. Wind will more than likely be an issue. And it’ll be stronger in the afternoon. And it’ll probably be a headwind then, too. To minimize your exposure to that, the best “how to ride” advice we can give is get south fast. Now, don’t hammer in the morning and wipe yourself out – you gotta ride smart. But the further south you can get before the sun pops out from behind Funeral Peak, the better you’ll be.

b. DON’T GET OVEREXCITED IN THE MORNING! The first 18 miles to Badwater is a net downhill. It’s cool, you’re in the shade, and you’re with 349 of your closest friends – it’s waaaaay too easy to find yourself going faster than you ought to. Go fast, but not too fast!

c. Climbing Jubilee Pass is all about rhythm – find a pace you can maintain, then find your Happy Place and keep chuggin’ and drinkin’. Take breaks if you need to. It’s a loooong climb, and it’ll be getting hot.

d. Eat smart. There’s gonna be LOTS of food out there – if it weren’t for the dehydration you could gain weight on this ride! Don’t overstuff yourself or experiment with foods you’re not sure about.

e. In the afternoon, especially if it’s windy, find a group to ride in and get a nice paceline going. Keep an eye on each other, especially as people fall to the back of the line – don’t drop anyone!

20. Did we mention the need to drink lots of water? No? Well, drink lots of water. Always!

21. More than anything, enjoy the experience.

Ride Team on the Radio

2010-10-04T15:11:00.002-04:00

Tune in Tuesday morning to the WGVU-FM Morning Show with Shelly Irwin. We will be talking about the JDRF ride in Death Valley. Air time in 10:04 a.m., right after the news. 88.5 on your FM dial. Lakeshore folks tune in to 95.3 FM.

MOUNTAINBIKE RIDE THIS WEEKEND!

2010-10-04T09:22:00.003-04:00

Oh sure - our road bikes are (as Did so eloquently put it) all tucked in and en route to Death Valley but that doesn't mean that we stop riding!!!!!!

Let's gather @ the LutonPark Trailhead for a 9:30 roll-out this Sunday and "do it in the dirt"!

(There's even a pretty-dang-good chance that you'll have a chance to see someone's new-to-them off-road tandem tearin' it up!)

Okay - Sunday Sunday SUN-DAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! See youse guys there, huh?

By the way - have I mentioned the full extent to which you guys rock lately? No? My bad!

'Cuz you all for dang sure do!

See you soon!

Coach Mike

(DV Count-down 10 days 'til take off!)

Snug as Bug in Rug

2010-10-03T12:02:00.003-04:00

They're off!

This was the first time I'd ever seen the bikes packed in to the truck. We've had great luck with getting the bikes to our various rides, and now I see why - Paul, our driver, has done this for 4 years now, and has it down. Every bike is wrapped in a blanket. They're tucked in with each other, and then all those bags of clothes and stuff that you sent along are used as dunnage to further hold them in place. straps lock the bikes in place front-to-back and rails separate the rows. Those rails are also used to create a second layer for packing more bikes in the truck- our 40 bikes ended up a lot less space than I expected. Ultimately there will be about 150 bikes on this truck, and the whole bike room setup, and all of the supplies and and gear that Trish and Aly use at the ride. We make goooood use of this truck, and Paul takes really good care of us!

As Paul was closing up the truck and getting ready to head off to Indianapolis, I noticed the final cool touch:

Is that not awesome?

If you get a chance, say hi to Paul, and give him a great big thanks. He's a major part of making this whole thing happen!

Saturday Details

2010-10-01T08:01:00.003-04:00

While I love MC's, um....'generous' way with words when blogging*....I found myself hunting for details on this Saturday's ride in the lovely, eloquent post below. So, here goes, the details:

SATURDAY 10/2/10

10:00am roll-out; 28 miles

Velo City Cycles, Holland

loop 2 - rolling around 12:30pm from same place. 50 miles.

BIKE DROP FOR DEATH VALLEY TRUCK: Leave your bike and (if you want) a small duffel bag clearly marked with your name and "West Michigan.**" Take water bottles and computer off your bike, anything else that might disappear. If you can't ride on Saturday but are still sending your bike on the truck, it must be at Velo City Cycles by 5:00pm Saturday 10/2.

See you Saturday!

* Love ya, MC!

**This should actually say "Michigan Great Lakes West," but let's be honest, that's just too long to fit on a luggage tag.

TEAM RIDE REPORT /A.C.C./ TEAM RIDE INFO!

2010-09-27T16:17:00.003-04:00

'Twas a hardy (and select!) buncha JDRF teammies gathered in the wind, occasional drizzle and chill last Saturday @ Ada Park for the next-to-last Team Ride of September. Coach Did had prepared 2 rides fulla challenge and elevation change and after a few minutes of discussion it was "onward and upward" for the group, comprised of Coach Did, Tom M, Nick M, myself and for the 1st time - Dara from Dewitt, the latest addition to The World's Coolest Team. We rolled east, then up the big climb on Snow and played around on that side o' town. Tom had the only flat of the day but we ended up cuttin' it a bit short to get back to the park by 11:40 to be ready for the "2nd shift". 29 miles to be exact.
Waiting for us @ the park were the Machutas, Mike H and the lovely Linda C. Dara took off, having accomplished her longest ride ever, and off we went for points north. We went through Ada and up towards Cannonsburg and all the hills and dales up that-a-way. It was still pretty breezy, kinda chilly and spit a little rain every once in awhile. We hung in, bid Tom adieu about 15 miles in and worked our way up, around and over for a total of 47 miles. (Or as Linda would call it- "50") Cookies and various munchies were consumed in the parking lot afterwards before we split up for the day. Total for both rides - 76 miles (or as Linda would say "80", 1 flat, lotsa climbing.

The next day brought us to the Apple Cider Century, a great ride down near the In border featuring (surprise!) apple cider, 5 routes and 5500 riders. I saw a buncha team mates down there - Brad S, Team Scheidel (all 3), John J, Penny E, Kaat T, Herb and Brenda B, Stewart M, Cindy A and Mel W. It was a challenging day - hilly, windy and brisk. Easily yhr toughest century I've done this year! Still - a day in the saddle w/ friends 'tis a fine day indeed and we were blessed to have just exactly that!

So - that's enough about the past - even the pretty-dang-recent past! Let's talk about the future! Egg-zac-lee 17 days from right now our DV squad will be in or en route to Death Valley! I dunno about y'all but I can not wait! To those of you that will be @ your 1st Ride - I envy you and for the rest of you - you know what I'm talkin' about ! It's going to be a wild, wonderful, inspiring and exhausting weekend!
I promise!
Now - 'tween now and then are 2 important things so read on please!

This Saturday is the last team ride before Death Valley and I really hope we see a good turnout! It'd be awesome-beyond-awesome to see our LaCrosse, VT and Tucson riders here to show their support for their desert-bound teammies too. Here's the scoop:

We'll roll fromVelo City Cycles in Holland (the reason for that will be revealed in a paragraph or two) @ 10:00 sharp. The 1st ride will be the infamous "Llama Loop" of shopride fame - a 28 or so mile jaunt out S.W. of town. We'll roll back in and meet up w/ anyone that wants to join us for Ride numero dos, which'll roll @ 12:30. That one will be 45-50 miles so we'll be back around 4pm. There is talk of grabbin 'a bite across the street @ the brewpub afterwards so stay flexible if you can.

Afterwards you can leave you bike @ the shop 'cuz the Gainey Truck will be here later that day to pick 'em up for the trip to DV. Again - make sure your bike is ready to ship - remove computers, bottles etc and you can also send a bag (well marked and identified) along w/ your bike.

Not able to make the ride? Your bike needs to be here by 5pm Saturday 10/2 or it ain't gonna be waiting for ya in the Valley! If you're gonna want some work done make sure we have it a day or 2 ahead of time, okay?

I think that covers it - thanks for working your way all the way to the end here - I know that was lotsa words but - hey - lotsa say, y'know?

Hard to believe it's almost October - hard to believe we're talking about the last ride prior to DV, hard to believe that we've been on this journey for 6 seasons now. (The Ride journey that is - I know that many of you have been on the Type 1 journey for far longer than that and I salute and admire you!)

In 19 days we'll be on the road to Jubilee Pass, riding in that desert heat and sun and wind surrounded by 400-some of the finest people you'd ever wanna meet. It's going to be awesome - just like all of you are - and I can't wait.

So - keep riding, keep raising $, keep rocking like you all do so well!

See you this weekend!
Coach Mike

Dogs for Dollars TONIGHT

2010-09-27T09:19:00.002-04:00

Come on up to Rockford tonight. Join us at the Corner Bar between 5 and 9 p.m. The Corner will be donating 15% of all food purchases to the JDRF Ride Team, specifically Tom, Mary and Ian Scheidel. Print the attached coupon and bring it along. If you forget, don't worry, we'll have some available there.
We did this a couple a years ago right before we left for Death Valley and had a great time. Sort of a team send off party. See you tonight.

NEWS FLASH!

2010-09-26T21:53:00.002-04:00

It would seem to be a bit toasty in Death Valley...

Who'da guessed?

Good News, Everyone! Ya get to keep yer bike longer!

2010-09-22T13:29:00.001-04:00

Hey folks, change in our bike shipping plans for Death Valley!

We've been able to move the pickup date back to Saturday, October 2 in the evening. Not coincidentally, we're having a team ride that day, from Velo City Cycles - so you'll be able to get in a last ride, then you'll be able to leave your bike to be lovingly placed into the sweet embrace of a mess o' shipping blankets way up at the front of the trailer.

I've also confirmed that you can send a small bag with some stuff in it, as long as you make sure that it's clearly labelled as yours, and where it's going, and all that. That bag's a good place to put your helmet, shoes, and water bottles, assuming you won't need those items in the week and a half after the last team ride (*cough* Colorburst Tour *hack* October 9 *wheeze* if you've got a spare bike *cough*).

So, cool beans, eh?

Now, you're going to get an email very shortly here that you MUST respond to - by the end of the day Friday, we have to have a list of bikes that are going to on the truck, regardless of what fundraising package you're signed up for. So, look for that.

Otherwise, the rest of the information stands - team ride this Saturday from Ada Park, 9am rollout! Doing the team ride AND the Apple Cider Century on Sunday would be great training, I'm just sayin'...

IMPORTANT NEWS REGARDING BIKE TRANSPORT

2010-09-21T11:52:00.002-04:00

Awright, now, pay attention!

I just got off the phone with MC, who had just gotten off the phone with Aly at the JDRF.

We have finalized Death Valley bike transportation information for EVERYONE on the team.

First off, for Silver and Bronze Package riders, you CAN ship your bike on the truck to Death Valley. The cost will be $150 for the round-trip shipment.

So that's good news.

Now, for EVERYONE on the team who is going to Death Valley:

The truck will be picking up the bikes in the morning on Thursday, September 30. Yes, that is in 9 days. We are not yet certain where the bikes will be picked up from, but it's a safe bet it'll be either the Chapter office in GR, or from Velo City in Holland. We'll have that information for you shortly.

You will need to have your bike to the pick-up location by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 29.

Paul (the driver) is not planning to be in Death Valley until the Thursday before the ride, and our bikes will be waaaay up at the front of the truck. So, if you are one of the few folks planning to do MC's Thursday ride up to Dante's View and around Golden Canyon, you will need to box and ship your bike to Death Valley - please investigate the AirCaddy/ShipBikes.com option for that. I suppose you could do that if you don't want to give up your bike so early, but for Gold package people my guess is that you'd be on your own for that, cost-wise, since JDRF is already paying for the truck.

So, that's not the greatest situation for us, I guess - it means that your last chance to go on a really good long ride is this weekend - but, then again, it doesn't matter one whit what how much, or even if, we ride in Death Valley. It's the money we've raised that will get us closer to a cure!

Team Ride Report, Team Ride Notice, etc.

2010-09-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so, I know, we didn’t publicize the team ride Saturday morning all that well, but nevertheless, the parking lot at Richmond Park was full of cars, and the place was humming with activity! Tents were being set up, people in strange clothes wandered around chatting with each other, it was the busiest team ride I’ve ever seen!

Ok, so the vast majority of the people were there for the Grand Rapids Pagan Pride day festivities. In fact, they all were, except for 3 of us. And two of us were coaches. That would not stop us from our planned 51ish mile ride, no sir it would not! Nor would the rain or the really awesome lightning! Yep, we headed out, a peloton of 3, and rolled south, and promptly stopped for a flat tire. With the shard of brown glass extracted from Coach Mike's front tire, we continued south, and promptly stopped to visit the nice folks at the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. Some of these nice folks looked vaguely familiar, although I have trouble recognizing people in non-skintight clothing.

Well, after inserting ourselves in to a team photo, we continued riding north! The city streets disappeared beneath our wheels as Kaat guided us along through Grand Rapids, unfailingly bringing us to Richmond Park, where... wait, what? Weren't we just there? Ah, bugger it. Kaat had to go to work, MC wanted to get his 'cross bike prepped for racing, and me, well, my saddle and I haven't been on the best terms lately, so after a whopping 6.24 miles, that was kinda enough. We changed clothes and went for some breakfast.

So there ya go.

Now, THIS Saturday, September 25, we'll try this again! We will have a team ride from Ada Park (here: http://tinyurl.com/adapark) with a 9 am sharp rollout time for the first loop, and a Noon rollout for the second loop. Figure on 35 miles for loop 1, 45 or so for loop 2, and some basic gustation between and after the rides. It's 3 weeks before the Death Valley ride, so a couple of good, long rides would definitely be appropriate.

On Sunday, the 26th, there are a few of us going to visit one of our more far-flung team members; if you're interested in meeting and riding with Dara, let me know. Or just go and have fun at the Apple Cider Century!

As always, keep riding the good ride and rocking the good rock - we're getting hard in to the buildup to DV, so keep your eyes open for information and never hesitate to ask me or Mike or any of the Ride Committee for anything if you've got questions!

See ya Saturday!

WXMI-17 news tomorrow

2010-09-20T15:51:00.004-04:00

Tuesday is the TV live shot at the dam in Rockford. If you can't be there at 4:00 try and come by at 6:00. We'd like lots of riders in the background for the live shots. Wear JDRF or pink pancreas jerseys. If you have questions contact Tom Scheidel.

The Harvest Ride 2010

2010-09-19T19:24:00.003-04:00

A weekend of Maggies - Maggie DeBoer, Peggy (Maggie) Miller and Maggie Stone.

Hosted by Peggy Miller - who Saturday late afternoon/evening treated not only the Maggies, but also Tom Miller, Rob Andro and yours truly JD Stone to a fabulous afternoon and evening that included a canoe ride, far East appetizers, pasta dinner with caesar salad (Maggie Stone supplied), fabulous local breads, a spectacular view of Lake Leelanau, and after dinner a roaring fire in the fireplace laced with great conversation, many laughs and some semi serious discussion on where things stand with finding a cure. Oh and did I mention the five berry pie locally baked earlier that day. Scrumptuous topped with ice cream.

Then it was early to bed and very early to ride - up at 5:45. Broke the fast with yogurt, granola, some fruit, and of course hot coffee.

The group broke into two - those doing the 25 mile loop Maggie S and Peggy with some of her relatives - who kinda got to sleep in while the other group of Tom, Rob, Maggie D and JD made lots of noise getting dressed for the metric century ride trying to figure out what to wear when the current temp is 45 degrees but expected to rise to the mid to high 50's.

Knees were covered most of the day. Two miles into the ride for all routes is a grade 7 climb(that's steeper than the Jubilee climb at DV) up to inspiration point. We commenced promptly at 8 AM and it was COLD!!

Blessed with sunshine it began to warm as the sun poked through. Beautiful views througout the day. Our mini-pace line was joined for awhile by an older gentleman by the name of Douglas who rode his 26 mtb wearing sandals, and shorts with a very unique riding form.

Food stop #1 about 24 miles in - really great cookies along with the customary bananas, misc. munchies and beverages.

The route took us east of lake Michigan and then north almost to the top of the east side of lake Leelanau (North lake L) and at the northern most point was Food Stop #2.

Some of the best chili we've ever had - Rob was horsing it down and warned the rest of us not to miss it. We didn't.

From there it was south along the Western shore of Lake L (south lake L) and of course more hills. There was no paucity of hills. In fact there was virtually no flat during this ride, you were either climbing at 7 or 8 mph or screaming down hills at speeds at times exceeding 35 pmh.

Food stop #3 had the best cookies - all home made and many varieties - I had the pumpkin with cranberry and added some locally made peanut butter.

Finally we made it to the finish - changed in to civies and guess what a hot meal of browned rice, with steamed vegetables garnished with a choice of plumb , sweet & sour or terriyake(sp?) sauce, a salad w choice of dressing. Followed by home-made ice cream cones, served outside at picnic tables.

All of this was included in the entry fee. What a deal. Great views, cool weather, lots of friendly people, a challenging Death Valley esq ride, and the hostes and host Peggy and Gene-O Miller - who shared their cottage built in the early 1900's with the JDRF crew who were able to make it.

Be a TV star

2010-09-16T12:51:00.002-04:00

Another great publicity opportunity has come our way. TV 17 wants to feature our team on their September 21st newscasts. This will include some taped interviews that will run during the 10:00 p.m. news and a live shot at 6:15 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. So if you want to be involved (and why wouldn't you) here's the details.

Show up at the Rockford dam in downtown Rockford at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21. Wear JDRF or pink peleton jerseys. Tim Doty from TV 17 will meet us there. He will conduct some interviews then we'll do a short ride north on the White Pine Trail. We will stop at a couple of locations to allow the cameraman to get some action shots. For those who want to ride more there will be an extended route available. We will plan on being back at the dam area at 6:00 p.m. to get ready for the live shot. The dam is one block west of the Corner Bar. A good after party location.

This will be happening rain or shine. If you want more details please contact Tom Scheidel.

Hi!

2010-09-15T20:11:00.001-04:00

Hi from the Reno Int'l Airport & Casino

2010-09-15T14:44:00.002-04:00

Here we sit, one tired person (me) and two absolutely dead wiped out people (MC & Berger) waiting to hurtle through the stratosphere in an aluminum tube. Ya ever wonder what Orville and Wilbur Wright might think of air travel a century after they first flew? I sometimes think they'd just apologize then go home and burn their Flyer.

Then again, without the $5 stale peanuts and flabby, smelly seatmates, I wouldn't have gotten out to the Lake Tahoe area for the past couple of days. I got to see a JDRF ride from a different point of view, and it's pretty much just as cool. I got here Sunday mid-afternoon, and had the slightly discordant experience of following a couple of fully kitted up JDRF riders as they rolled their bikes across the casino floor to the Bike Room.

Lake Tahoe is almost indescribably gorgeous - shades of blue going from pale to deep as the lake gets deeper, with rocky, wooded mountains all around. Indeed, the only ugly spot - the pimple on the supermodel - is Stateline, Nevada, home of the Montbleu Casino and the headquarters of the Ride. As MC said, it's a pretty blah place, at least 20 years older than the Vegas Strip places. Without the casino, it'd just be a kinda meh hotel, I guess. What made it not so hot for us was that the Bike Room was a windowless conference room in the bowels of the place, with inadequate light and distant bathrooms. And we spent a LOT of time in there. Maybe that's why we got through packing the bikes quicker than we'd expected; the urge to get out of there was powerful.

Out we got, though, for some good foodstuffs and, yesterday afternoon, a drive around the course backwards from the ride direction.

Just, wow. There are ride-off-the-side-of-the-road views almost everywhere. I wanted to be on my bike really badly, with a whole day to kill and full batteries in a nice camera.

So, would I recommend riding here? Well, mostly, yeah. The route is a no-brainer. It's only 72 miles, no option for 100, but it's very hilly and at high enough altitude to make a big difference. I think you'd need just as much fitness to ride this as you would to ride a full century. You could approach this ride differently, too - you could push and be done by noon and hang out for the rest of the day, or loaf your way through, stopping and soaking it all in. Did I mention the views?

The road surfaces are very good, but there's not much shoulder (or room for a shoulder!) in a lot of it, and the traffic can be tight as a result. But, they do get 1800 riders around the lake; there were lots of event-specific signs and such.

Being a piggyback ride, it'd have a very different feel than the DV all-JDRF all the time enforced cameraderie. Getting away from the casino would help some, at least.

So, basically, yeah, I'd recommend it, as long as you keep your expectations away from the Death Valley standard. Unfortunately that's kind of a damning thing to say about the ride. The DV standard is perhaps unreasonably high - but deservedly so. That place is special.

Anyway, on a more practical front, we WILL have a team ride this Saturday morning. We'll ride from Richmond Park in Grand Rapids at 9 AM, with the intention of doing roughly 50 miles. There won't be a dual-start option this time. We'll roll through the JDRF Walk event area too, so I'd suggest wearing your favorite ride day jersey (the Hincapie ones with the full zip, not necessarily the Pink Peloton jerseys, unless you want to).

4 weeks from today we head to DV! Pahrump! Supplies! The Date Palm Grove! The Pool! The Wonderfulness of Being Us! Daaamn but I can't wait!

See you Saturday...